TEHRAN, 3 May 2005 — A top Iranian hard-line MP pulled out of the race for the presidency yesterday to help prevent what he said was the “danger” of a victory of top cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, seen as a more moderate conservative.
In a statement carried by the Iranian press, Ahmad Tavakoli said his decision to stop campaigning ahead of the June 17 poll was made to “favor the designation of a single candidate” representing the right-wing camp.
He also cited the need to “avert the danger” of a continuation of “the process of the past 16 years” - a clear reference to Rafsanjani who served as president from 1989 to 1997. Incumbent President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who was first elected in 1997, cannot stand again because the constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms in office.
Rafsanjani, a pragmatic conservative and still one of Iran’s most powerful figures, has already clearly signaled that he will attempt a comeback in next month’s election.
His presidential bid is expected to benefit from divisions within the ultra-conservative camp, which has so far not managed to rally around a single candidate.
Iran’s main conservative alliance, the Council for Coordinating Forces in the Islamic Revolution (CCFIR), has chosen the hard-line former state television boss Ali Larijani as its candidate.
But two of his rivals, populist ex-police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezai, have refused to pull out. In addition, Tehran’s Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad is also believed to be considering joining the race.
Speaking to AFP, Qalibaf said he believed he was still “the most serious rival for Mr. Rafsanjani”.
Another conservative candidate, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, is seen as being closer to Rafsanjani and may pull out in his favor, analysts said.
Presidential candidates are subject to approval by the Guardians Council, an unelected body controlled by hard-liners. It was the council that blacklisted nearly all reformist candidates ahead of the February 2004 parliamentary elections.
The Council could block the main reformist candidate, former Higher Education Minister Mustafa Moin.
