Former President Ahmadinejad’s run for a third term as President came to a screeching halt, according to Yahoo! News:
Former Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was barred from running in next month’s election Thursday while President Hassan Rouhani was among six candidates approved by Iran’s conservative-controlled Guardian Council, state media reported.
The other candidates selected were hardliners Ebrahim Raisi and Mostafa Mirsalim, Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, moderate Mostafa Hashemitaba and Rouhani’s ally and vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri.
Former hardline president Ahmadinejad, who ruled from 2005 to 2013, was barred along with his close ally Hamid Baghaie.
Since both Ahmadinejad and his former vice president Baghaie were barred from running, it appears Supreme Leader Khamenei wasn’t kidding when he voiced worries about domestic unrest resulting from candidacies from Ahmadinejad’s camp. Of course, it’s a knife’s edge – there have to be worries about the denial to run as well. And Ahmadinejad’s followers were not adverse to violence during the election campaign leading to his second term.
This may prove interesting.
