Ahmadinejad Has Ruined Iran, Candidates Are Sloganeering

“Since Mr. Rafsanjani was eliminated from the upcoming elections, apathy is apparent among Iranians. Some await his return, even though unlikely. Public opinion has not yet accepted his disqualification and recognizes it as a legal decision.” These are the remarks of Yadollah Sahabi, the secretary general of the alumni organization for Majlis deputies (Majmae Namayandeghane Advar Majlis Shoaraye Eslami).

Eslami who was also the editor of banned Fath newspaper, a former Majlis and a faculty member of Tehran University’s medical school believes that Rafsanjani’s disqualification a significant section of Iranians will ignore the elections on June 14. Here are the excerpts of the interview.

Rooz: What is your evaluation of the elections?

Eslami: In the past year political groups searched for ways to effectively address the current shortcomings facing the country. Reformists came around Khatami and expected him to run. But he turned this expectation down and presented Rafsanjani as the solution. Rafsanjani on his part stepped in but to the surprise of activists and observers he was disqualified, even though this was not a new trend. This is a very negative development, that is not even legal, and the public still cannot fathom his rejection.

Rooz: Not legal?

Eslami: I do not view the Guardian Council’s decision to be legal. They used his age as the excuse. Could they say based on which law? There is no age limitation in the law, as nothing is mentioned about a person’s view or remarks. Mr. Rafsanjani has talked of moderation and release of political prisoners which are helpful in resolving some of the current issues and going beyond the current state of affairs. With his disqualification, people have become disenchanted. If the GC decision is based on law, then they should present them to the public.

Rooz: Mr. Khatami did not run because he believed he would be disqualified and so supported Rafsanjani, who they thought would not be disqualified. But he was.

Eslami: You will have to ask Mr. Khatami why he chose not to run. There were activists and members in the Advisory Council who did not support his candidacy. The conclusion in that body was that Mr. Rafsanjani enjoyed a good standing and chance. The decision not to run was not made a personal one by Mr. Khatami and there were indications even earlier that he was not keen on running and preferred Mr. Rafsanjani to do that.

Rooz: With two of the eight candidates running in the elections affiliated with the reformists – Aref and Rowhani - will there be a consensus on one?

Eslami: Neither Aref nor Rowhani came to the elections at the behest of the reformists. It was their own choice. Mr. Rowhani has never said that he belongs to the reformist camp and has not wanted to be identified as such. Mr. Aref is associated with the reformists because he served in Mr. Khatami’s cabinet. But this does not mean that his views are in line with all reformist groups. He decided to run without any coordination with the reformists. But in general reform is a very general term so that the current ideas that Mr. Velayati, Mr. Ghalibaf and even Mr. Rezai are flouting in the economic realm are reformist, even though they do not belong to the reformists.

Rooz: Consensus?

Eslami: There are many discussions going on such as to vote or not to vote, accepting on a single candidate etc but nothing has been decided.

Rooz: Are the promises of the eight candidates realistic or merely campaign slogans?

Eslami: These are clearly campaign activities far from realities. The candidates know that well as well. People know it too and expects a slight improvement in their life and at the least not deterioration. One should not that political, economic, social etc conditions can be changed by simply the disposition or position of one single person. We need a different approach. This is more important that changing a single person. It has also been clearly stated that the general direction of policy and events are not the prerogative of the head of the executive branch. The nuclear issue is not in the hands of the president. The same is true about foreign policy or relations with the US. Even if someone comes along and claims that he can resolve them, one should note that they are only slogans and that he does not have that authority or even ability to accomplish them. The other area is economics, but that too is affected by the foreign policy of the country. The economic situation all depend on what happens to the sanctions, the oil market, relations with the worlds etc. At the same time, the mere mentioning of these as goals by the candidates is something people like to hear.

Rooz: What are you forecasts about the election? Will there be an extensive public participation?

Eslami: Changes is very rapid in Iran, so it is difficult even to speculate. There will be changes until election day that will impact things. What is clear is that Rafsanjani’s disqualification brought forth public despair. There is an amount of wait-and-see along with concern and even fear.

Rooz: There is also some talk of returning Mr. Mashai to the race 48 hours before voting day.

Eslami: the reality is that people have not taken Mashai very seriously and so his disqualification did not have any effect, unlike the impact of Mr. Rafsanjani’s disqualification.

Rooz: There are rumors of actions if Mashai is not brought back. There are threats of expose’s along with the talks to return Mashai.

Eslami: Mr. Ahmadinejad always used this list of corrupt economic individuals as a threat. But the tool has lost its effectiveness. Ahmadinejad lacks strong support. Even conservatists who brought him in and supported him have turned against him now. Note that all the conservative and principlist presidential candidates reject Ahmadinejad’s economic policies. Ahmadinejad is playing with obsolete information. People too are not interested in these exposes. In 2005 Mr. Rafsanjani was subjected to character assassinations and so called exposes, but look at his standing today. They view him positively. If he had not been disqualified, he would have received very high votes. Mr. Ahmadinejad looks like the person who is drowning and to save himself is clinging on to anything that is within reach. His mission was to destroy and unfortunately he succeeded in doing it in the economic realm, people’s work and everything.