International
Iran's future course: What does the list of permitted Presidential race candidates indicate?
New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) Beset by Western sanctions, regional tensions, and internal social and political strains – especially plummeting voter turnout- Iran will on June 28 elect a new President in snap polls necessitated by the demise of incumbent Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
However, the country’s likely course ahead has been made clear by the list of the permitted candidates.
The configuration of the six candidates on the ballot after the vetting and clearing of nominations of various candidates by the Guardian Council, comprising a dozen jurists, half appointed by the Supreme Leader and half by the Majles (Parliament), is stark in its choices. Most are conservatives of various persuasions, largely hardline.
The late President Raisi, who succeeded moderate Hasan Rouhani in 2021, was a hardliner. His accession in 2021 represented the alternating change between moderate reformist and conservative hardline holders of the nation’s second-most powerful post over the past nearly three decades – Mohammad Khatami (reformist, 1997-2005), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (populist conservative, 2005-13), and then, Rouhani (reformist, 2013-21), and Raisi (2021-24).
However, several reformist candidates were not cleared to run in the 2021 polls, leading to the lowest turnout ever noted in Iranian Presidential polls – barely 48.5 per cent.
This time, the situation is not much different from the previous polls.
Saeed Jalili, a former hardline chief nuclear negotiator (2007-13) and a candidate for the 2013 poll – when he lost to Rouhani – and in 2021 when he withdrew in favour of Raisi, has made the cut, but his more moderate predecessor Ali Larijani was again not permitted to run, like in 2021.
Larijani’s successor as Majles Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a former Mayor of Tehran and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force chief, is also on the list, as is his successor as Tehran Mayor and former Majles member Alireza Zakani, who was not cleared to run in 2013 and 2017 but got the nod for 2021, before withdrawing in favour of Raisi.
Vice President and Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs head Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, an ENT surgeon by profession, and former Interior (2005-08) and Justice Minister (2013-2017) Mostafa Pourmohammadi are also approved candidates. They are also conservative by bent.
Majles member and cardiac surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian, who served as a minister in the Khatami regime, is the only candidate who is viewed as a reformist. However, he is an ethnic Azeri which could affect his chances of gaining widespread support across the country. His presence seems geared to draw out reformist voters to boost the turnout.
“Perennial Presidential candidate” and longtime IRGC Commander Mohsen Rezaei, who was cleared for the 2005 presidential poll – though withdrawing subsequently – but went on to contest the 2009, 2013, and 2021 polls – with his best performance in the last where he came second, is not standing this time.
Nor is Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, who is currently the acting President, with reports claiming he and Rezaei met Qalibaf and decided to support him.
Apart from Larijani, other prominent candidates who were barred from standing were former President Ahmadinejad – known to have some disagreements with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei towards the end of his term and subsequently – and reformist candidate Eshaq Jahangiri, who had served as Vice President under Rouhani and as a minister under Khatami.
However, it must be noted that even Jahangiri, seen as the reformists’ best choice, was clear not to come out against the establishment.
With the field set, the main contest seems to be between Jalili, who is close to Supreme Leader Khamenei and the IRGC, who could weigh in his favour with the entrenched establishment, and Qalibaf, who is also deemed close to the Supreme Leader and bears an IRGC pedigree himself.
A Jalili victory, possible as the reformist electorate could again sit out the polls to counter the established regime’s bid to establish the legitimacy of the poll process, leading to his own supporters exerting a decisive impact, would mean a continuation of the policies of President Raisi, with whom he was quite close and is understood to have exerted a key influence on his several decisions.
If Qalibaf, considered a moderate conservative, goes on to win, the situation ahead would only differ in degrees, with no major changes in either domestic or foreign policies indicated.
However, even if either of them wins, or for that matter, most of the others, one key challenge will still remain. President Raisi was expected to run again in the 2025 election, and, as a high-ranking cleric, was tipped as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Jalili, a soldier-turned-academician-turned-politician, and Qalibaf, a pilot-turned-politician, do not have the religious credentials for the country’s top post. Nor do the other candidates, save Pourmohammadi possibly.
(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
–IANS
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Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of Singapore’s founding father, the late Lee Kuan Yew, announced on Tuesday that he is now a political refugee in the United Kingdom after seeking asylum from the British government “as a last resort.”
“I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that someday it will be safe to return home,” Lee stated in a Facebook post, as reported by Channel News Asia (CNA).
Citing what he described as the Singapore government’s “attacks” against him, Lee, who is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, revealed that he sought asylum protection in 2022.
Lee Hsien Yang and his late sister, Lee Wei Ling, who passed away earlier this month, have been in conflict with their brother Lee Hsien Loong over the fate of their father’s home following his death in 2015, resulting in a public dispute that has estranged the siblings.
In an interview with the UK-based newspaper The Guardian, Lee alleged that a “campaign of persecution” compelled him to seek asylum in Britain.
In response to his claims, the Singapore government stated that there is “no basis” for his allegations of “a campaign of persecution” or other assertions regarding political repression in the country.
“Singapore’s judiciary is impartial and makes decisions independently. This is why Singaporeans have a high level of trust in the judiciary,” a government spokesperson remarked.
The spokesperson added that there are no legal restrictions preventing Lee and his wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, from returning to Singapore. “They are and have always been free to return to Singapore,” the spokesperson said.
Lee and his wife have been outside of Singapore since 2022, having opted not to attend a scheduled police interview regarding potential offenses related to providing false evidence in judicial proceedings concerning their father’s will and the family home.
Lee and his late sister, who had been living at the property, alleged they felt threatened while trying to fulfill their father’s wish to demolish the house. They also accused their elder brother, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of abusing his governmental influence to advance his personal agenda.
Kazan, Russia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit.
During the meeting, President Putin remarked, “I recall our meeting in July, where we had productive discussions on various issues. We’ve also spoken over the phone several times. I am very grateful you accepted the invitation to come to Kazan. Today, we will attend the BRICS Summit’s opening ceremony, followed by dinner.”
PM Modi responded by expressing his appreciation, saying, “I sincerely thank you for your friendship, warm welcome, and hospitality. It’s a great pleasure to visit such a beautiful city as Kazan for the BRICS Summit. India shares deep historical ties with this city, and the opening of our new embassy here will further strengthen these connections.”
Vientiane (Laos), Aug 22 (IANS) Representatives from the Lao government and development partners have attended a conference here titled “Climate Change and Nutrition in Laos: Intersections and Interventions” to discuss the impact of climate change on nutrition in the Southeast Asia country and potential solutions.
Speaking at the conference, deputy director general of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health Viengkhan Phixay, said, “We gather to address a critical and interwoven issue: the impact of climate change on nutrition and how we can work together to tackle these challenges,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lao government is actively engaged in this endeavor, with numerous policies and initiatives aimed at addressing both climate change and nutrition, Lao National Television reported on Thursday.
“By leveraging the Scaling Up Nutrition network in Laos, which is led by the government, and supported by civil society, donors, and the United Nations, we have a robust platform to tackle the negative impacts of climate change while improving nutrition and overall health for everyone in Laos,” Viengkham said at the conference held on Monday.
The conference featured a series of presentations that not only detailed evidence-based research but also introduced innovative tools for measuring and enhancing nutrition under the impact of climate change.
The conference stressed the critical need for integrated approaches to tackle the intertwined challenges of climate change and nutrition, and setting the stage for impactful future collaborations.
–IANS
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Baghdad, Aug 22 (IANS) A civilian was killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a tribal shootout in Iraq’s holy Shiite province of Najaf, according to a local security source.
The shootout erupted in the early hours between armed men from the local tribe in the al-Zarga area in northern Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, a local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clash resulted in the killing of an Iraqi civilian and the injury of seven others, including three Iranian Shiite pilgrims, the source added.
A joint force from the Interior Ministry’s emergency response division and Najaf provincial police arrested 53 gunmen from both sides of the shootout and seized weapons and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that search operations are ongoing to locate additional gunmen and weapons, with more details to be released later.
The incident took place as numerous pilgrims traveled to the city of Karbala to observe Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Typically, these pilgrims also visit Najaf as part of their journey to Karbala.
–IANS
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Dhaka, Aug 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government has sought $1 billion from the World Bank as budgetary support.
The call came from the country’s Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He made the plea as the ministry owes more than 2 billion dollars to suppliers in import costs of power and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Khan mentioned that the interim government, which was formed with many pressing mandates, is due to settle a $2 billion debt left by the previous government in the power sector.
He said they have already suspended activities under the much-criticized Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act 2010 and abolished the government’s power to set energy prices without any public hearing.
On August 5, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from her country and power, ending her rule since January 2009.
This event was seen as a massive escalation, with what initially started as student’s protests and resulted in a major crisis in Bangladesh.
Earlier on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
–IANS
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