Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani
The Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars offers the latest news on the 2013 Iranian presidential election, based on a selection of Iranian news sources. The Iran Election Update is a daily summary of up-to-date information with links to news in both English and Farsi.
June 13, 2013
- The U.S.-based Information and Public Opinion Solutions (IPOS) poll shows candidate Hassan Rouhani surging to 31.7% and Qalibaf in second with 24%. There are still 42.2% of respondents who say they are undecided for tomorrow.
- During a speech for a group of supporters yesterday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei asked Iranians to vote because “some might not want to support the Islamic Republic for their own reasons, but they do want to support their country so they should also vote."
- Candidate Ali Akbar-Velayati addressed rumors and main stream reports of dropping out of the presidential race today by saying that, “Despite all the rumors over the past few days, I am announcing that I will remain in the election until the end.”
- In an interview with Mehr News discussing the vetting process of candidates, the spokesperson of the Guardian Council, Abbass Ali Kadkhodaei, said, “The Guardian Council can review a candidate’s competence up to Election Day.”
- This YouTube clip shows people chanting at yesterday’s Hassan Rouhani campaign rally in Mashhad. The packed stadium chants, “If there's cheating, Iran will turn into a battlefield!”
- On the eve of the presidential election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released a statement that said, “I believe in the nation’s faith and intelligence,” and “a new era will begin on June 14th.”
- The BBC condemned "unprecedented levels of intimidation" of BBC employees' families by Iran ahead of its presidential elections. It said Iran had warned the families of 15 BBC Persian Service staff that they must stop working for the BBC or their lives in London would be endangered. The family members were threatened that they may lose jobs and be barred from traveling abroad.
- The speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, explained why he chose not to run as a candidate in this year’s election by saying, “In this year’s presidential election, there are individuals (candidates) with different views so I felt that my candidacy wasn’t needed.” He also said that remaining as the head of parliament “was more appropriate.”
- ILNA posts photos of candidate Hassan Rouhani’s enormous campaign rally yesterday at one of the busiest squares in Tehran, Vanak Square. ISNA posts a series of photos taken around Tehran on the last night of campaigning that reveal a city covered in campaign leaflets. Mehr News also posts photos of Iranians taking to the street and campaigning during the last day of the campaigning period.
- An Iranian citizen has reportedly put his vote for sale on EBay for 99 Euros, according to Guardian journalist Saeed Kamali Dehghan. The seller of the vote only has one stipulation about who his vote will go toward as he writes in the EBay description, “I will vote for anyone you want except for Mr. Jalili.”
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