Four years ago, Hassan Rouhani won the first round of the Iranian presidential election of that year; as he secured more than 50% of the vote, he won the election outright and no run-off was required. As Iranian presidents have four-year terms, 2017 has been Rouhani's re-election; thankfully, he won:
Not only did Rouhani win re-election but he did so with an increased mandate, with both a larger amount of votes and an increased vote percentage. This is excellent news, as it means that Iranian moderates continue to control the presidency while all the hardline candidates were defeated. It is especially important for people like Rouhani to remain in charge of Iran; given who is currently President of the United States, it would be - unproductive, to say the least - for a loudmouthed and reckless hardliner to lead Iran at this time (or any time, for that matter, but least of all now).
It does make you wonder what moderate even means in Iran. I do wish Iran would return to being a secular state
ReplyDeleteNowadays, moderate seems to mean "anyone who isn't a right-wing extremist".
Delete