Word: electioneers
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Despite the convulsions in Tehran's streets in the aftermath of a disputed presidential election, Iranians - and the smart folks in Washington - know that Iran's presidency is not the seat of executive power. Unelected mullahs hold veto power over the decisions of the elected government, and their Supreme Leader...
Still, the presidency is far from unimportant. It is a critical part of the "managed democracy" that the ruling clerics have used to govern Iran for the last three decades. Khamenei himself is a former President. The job is important enough to have brought millions of Iranians to the polls...
Yet Khamenei has now done something extraordinary to the regime's democratic apparatus. Even though Iran's Electoral Commission allows three days to hear challenges before presenting results to Khamenei for approval, the Supreme Leader rushed to put his seal of approval on the outcome, and warned all political factions...
The democratic element of Iran's system has functioned as an important safety valve for clerical rule by creating a managed channel for the release of popular frustrations. But now the Supreme Leader appears to have thrown his weight solidly behind what many are charging is a carefully staged putsch...
Not only was a questionable election result likely to prompt street protests and provide ammunition to hawks in the West, it also affirmed a challenge to much of the Islamic Revolution's established political class. Ahmadinejad branded the entire revolutionary establishment as feckless and corrupt, prompting appeals to Khamenei from...