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A woman shows a victory sign after a campaign rally in early June.
A woman shows a victory sign after a campaign rally in early June.
Transmission

Iran Election Blog

Updated

On June 14, Iranians head to the polls in the country's first presidential election since the contested vote in 2009, the aftermath of which saw hundreds of thousands of protesters take to the streets to demonstrate against the results. Here, RFE/RL editors will compile some of the best tidbits from the last few days of the campaign, including comments sent by Iranians to RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

10:57 12.6.2013
An excerpt:

This week, the popular "Asr-e Iran" website accused Iranian state television, which is under the direct control of Khamenei’s allies, of attempting to "impose" Jalili and of trying to give the impression that Jalili has more popular support than his rivals.

However, as expected, the supreme leader hasn’t publicly expressed support for any of the candidates. Some say that while Jalili is a solid contender to gain the establishment's backing, they aren't convinced yet. They say the perception that he is already the chosen one appears to have been inflated by his campaign.

10:44 12.6.2013
"Tasnim" quotes Ali Akbar Velayati:

"I am denying all rumors about my withdrawal and I am openly announcing that I am staying on the scene till the end [referring to the 14 June election]."
07:14 12.6.2013
A post on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Facebook page this morning:

Where in the world are candidates -- ranging from famous figures to unknown individuals -- allowed to use national media outlets equally? Where in the world is there such a thing? in the U.S.? in capitalist countries? In America and other capitalist countries, if a candidate is not a member of the existing two or three parties and if he is not supported by the mafia of wealth and power, he has no opportunities for campaigning."

Those who followed U.S. elections -- that I personally did -- would confirm this; there were some who were not supported by the Zionists, the bloodthirsty global capitalist network, so despite their attempts they were unable to enter election arena; they were made to spend a large sum for every second because they were deprived of any media & TV. In our country, candidates sit there equally in different TV programs for long hours talking to people without spending a single Rial. Where in the world is there such a thing?

Screen shot
Screen shot
06:50 12.6.2013
Blame Canada
It looks like Iranians in Canada will not be able to vote in Friday's presidential election.

Via Mehr News:

Tehran holds Canada responsible for the fact that Iranian expatriates living in this country cannot cast ballots in the June 14 presidential election, a Foreign Ministry official said on Sunday.

“The responsibility for the fact that the presidential election will not be held for our countrymen living in Canada lies with the government of Stephen Harper,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi said in response to a statement issued by Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird on Saturday in which he blamed Iran for failing to arrange for Iranian expatriates’ voting.

Canadian officials lay the blame with Tehran:

In his statement, Baird said, “Iran has taken no steps to arrange for Iranians in Canada to participate in this election, confirming that the regime itself sees the vote as an empty propaganda exercise. We have not yet received any proposal from Iran concerning the representation of its interests in Canada. Despite having nine months to make such an arrangement, Iran has failed to do so, depriving Iranian nationals of a range of services as well as the opportunity to vote.”
04:56 12.6.2013
19:00 11.6.2013
12:48 11.6.2013
Iran's Supreme Leader takes to Twitter to spell out the "qualities for the fittest candidates" for the presidency:

12:28 11.6.2013
12:25 11.6.2013
Read Golnaz Esfandiari's latest on complaints coming from conservative media outlets in Iran saying they are being negatively-affected by government filtering efforts.

Here's a snippet of the full item:

[R]eports in recent months suggest that conservative media, including blogs and news websites, have also been increasingly targeted by censors. The censorship has increased in the run-up to the June 14 presidential election.

The actions have led to a rare protest by more than 100 media activists -- said to be involved in managing semiofficial news agencies and conservative websites -- who have criticized the increased pressure against online media.

The activists write in their statement, issued over the weekend by the semiofficial Mehr news agency, that one of the bodies in charge of media work has in recent months taken "tough" and "unexpected" measures against the country's "known and official media."
11:51 11.6.2013

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