UKC

Many a Western democracy would be happy to have such a high turnout!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22916174

"Officials at the election headquarters said that with more than 12 million votes counted (11.7 million of them being valid):

Hassan Rouhani has 6,049,655
Mr Qalibaf is in second place with 1,844,463
Mohsen Rezai lies third with 1,518,964, followed by Saeed Jalili with 1,400,712.
Voting was extended until 23:00 local time (18:30 GMT) on Friday to allow more people to cast their ballots. Iranian Press TV said turnout was 80%."

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

Reuters says 50 million eligible voters.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/14/uk-iran-election-idUKBRE95C1DL2013...
So 24% ?

In reply to David Riley:

Or is that just so far ?

In reply to David Riley:

In the last line of my quote the turnout announced is 80%. The votes given are those counted at the time the article was written. The turnout is known much earlier on - like in most elections.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

Thanks Bruce. Hope Iran changes.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

cheers bruce. very f*cken excited.

looking like (to my mind) the right guy is getting in. many will be riled by him being a cleric, but in this case (as with khatami before) hes the type thats needed. as much as anything in that hes friends with likely the next ayatollah who will make the big changes.

having been in iran for an election (khatamis second term) i have an inkling of the vibe. a lot of people have been waiting for this. lets hope rouhani sets a good course.

In reply to Bruce Hooker: I'm sure in some countries they get a 110% turnout...

In reply to ice.solo: Sorry to piss on everyone's bonfire but I wouldn't get too excited, reformists still under house arrest from the last election, no reformist candidates left in this one, media and internet censorship, military and foreign policy still controlled by the supreme leader. I don't think anyone would be getting so excited if half our politicians were in jail, the media was under state control, foreign policy was controlled by the Monarchy and the Queen said that only Tory's can run in the next election.

The tragedy is that Iranians clearly care more about their elections than we do here but it just makes it win win for Khamenei, he gets to control the choice of who gets elected and then reap the publicity of the world seeing a large turn out. The fires and hope of 2009 have clearly been prevented from returning. The last 4 years have obviously given the government enough time to quietly imprison any Green supporters or journalists and prevent any reformists from reaching the ballot paper.

Unfortunately having a president that is moderate will mean very little while Iran has a Supreme Leader hell bent on Iran's isolation at all costs.

In reply to Sharp:

Yes it's a shame the country is basically controlled by a flaky religious hardliner who is hell-bent on confrontation with the west. Shame we can't have a pro-western leader in Iran again like the Shah then the world would be a safer place, at least for westerners.

In reply to PopShot:

You are probably Oliver, almost certainly a troll, and without question an idiot. And 3 years old. Now go away and have a glass of milk.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

So Hassan Rouhani has won, over 50% in the first round, no need for a second.

For those who are critical, I don't think I'm in a position to tell Iranians who they should vote for but I do think it's important that elections take place and with universal suffrage and the results are accepted by the losers. It took us centuries to manage this, why not allow Iran a few years?

In reply to Removed User: So the Iranian leadership aren't hardliners hellbent on confrontaion with the west and aren't a threat?

In reply to Bruce Hooker: You can still have praise for democratic progress while being critical of it's extent. The voters voted for a moderate and there are presumably much worse people to have in power than Rouhani. But maybe they'd have voted for a reformer if they'd got the chance.

In reply to Removed User:

Apparently Rouhani studied in Glasgow in the '70s and returned to complete his PhD in 1999!

In reply to Removed User:

Actually I think this is the most sensible post he's made for a while - ironical, of course. As you don't seem to have noticed then I think this confirms he is in fact trolling, with considerable success.

PS. At least I can pronounce his name, which makes discussing Iran easier.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

Fingers crossed. I'm very pleased. While the post revolution ayatollah controlled state is, to put it mildly, very far from ideal, lets not forget that Iranians have never been far for the cusp of reform and from what I can gather, outside of basic concerns about roofs over heads and food on the table, there is a much greater prevalence of, for want of a better term, 'western' secular sensibilities and cultural aspirations.

It would be good if the west if could get a grip on Iran being able to make its own decisions without being patronised by us, because that's done Iran few favours in the past. A bit of respect and, God forbid, co-operation could go a long way.

In reply to PopShot:

many are, not all, but so what.

>hellbent on confrontaion with the west

no

>and aren't a threat?

don't be silly.

In reply to Douglas Griffin:

I'd not heard of him until recently. I've a good mate (nephew of Mohsen Makhmalbaf to name-drop) who is Iranian and now living back there (unable to get a visa for the several post docs offered to him here, France and Canada). I've already emailed him to get his undoubtedly strong views.

In reply to Removed User:

Don't be silly? They have a nuclear weapons programme!!

In reply to ice.solo: Did you listen to http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/elections-in-the-is... ?

Good briefing on all the candidates. None of them stood out as particularly positive sound although the chap who has won studied in Glasgow like me, so he must be alright. </joke> I wonder if he were to support Scottish independence if Bruce would have to change his mind?

In reply to TobyA:


About what? I deliberately haven't expressed "my mind" about the candidates in Iran.

In reply to PopShot:

Have you seen it? or are you just repeating what you have seen on the tv?

In reply to Removed User:

I thought he hit the nail on the head - hey ho what do I know.

E

In reply to Sharp:

iran has far from the ideal form of leadership, with the ayatollahs, but thats what they have, after a revolution of their own, so thats what they have to work with. rouhani is, i think, the best option they have for playing that game out. his large voter base is the best thing to cool the ayatollahs position for now, and hopefully set a new course for political processes (recall its not rouhanis platform that jailed the reformists and clamped down on some of the smaller parties).

iran is a long game, and as bruce points out, one they are playing for themselves. they are subject to factors and elements unique to their nation and misunderstood by much of the world. they live in an interesting neighbourhood and have regional responsabilities (of varying natures) that carry enormous gravity. iran lives bang smack center of what most nations only ever see on tv.

i keep harping on about him, but i think to give dimension to iranian politics in general and rouhani in particular, have a look into khatami and his presidency. with the term 'reformists' being passed about a lot its forgotten that reform in iran takes many forms, and this is a game that needs playing at many levels. i dont think its a time to edge towards a revolution, dissent or upheavel. this one needs to be played top down. denying reformists a stand is of course wrong, but change too dynamic in a place like iran has a history of nastiness.

In reply to Removed User:

wow. makmalbaf(s) - both mohsen and samira - are heroes of mine. as i understand it m makmalbaf and khatami are friends (to the point that m makmalbaf returned from exile briefly during khatamis term).

youre in interesting circles

In reply to ice.solo:

Hi Ice, not really, just meet the odd amazing person now and then, like everyone else. He was my flatmate a few years ago when he did a postdoc at Edinburgh, really great guy, we hit it off immediately and I learned a lot about Iran from him, and he learned about slow cooked pork belly, Bordeaux wines and Scottish single malts from me . He's an ordinary, albeit extremely clever, guy just trying to make his way in the world. His uncle is somemthing else of course! Really want to go there.

In reply to Enty & Bruce:

Yeh, it was the "like the Shah" comment that was obviously provocative, and the other comments on other threads. Hook line and sinker.

In reply to :

Wikipedia paints this guy in a good light: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Rouhani_presidential_campaign,_2013

“The Iran–US relationship is a complex and difficult issue. A bitter history, filled with mistrust and animosity, marks this relationship. It has become a chronic wound whose healing is difficult but possible, provided that good faith and mutual respect prevail. . . . As a moderate, I have a phased plan to deescalate hostility to a manageable state of tension and then engage in promotion of interactions and dialogue between the two peoples to achieve détente, and finally reach to the point of mutual respect that both peoples deserve.”

Alomost a mirror of "I hold out my hand to those who are willing to unclench their fists."

Let's hope they can do business, a Gorbachev of the middle east?

In reply to Removed User:

Maybe I was a bit rash with the "shah" comment, I know he was a bit of a bastard to his own people. The ayatollah just seems so volatile and extremist.