Even before the final round of the Iranian presidential elections kicked off, there was an air of apprehension hanging over the affluent neighbourhoods in the north of Tehran. The city’s mayor, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, had stormed through the initial presidential vote to secure a place in the final runoff and he now faced the supposedly popular and political heavyweight, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for a chance to become Iran’s president. Could Ahmadinejad, a conservative to the heart, do the unthinkable and beat the moderate cleric Rafsanjani? By the time the official results poured in on Sunday last, their worst fears had come true.
In a highly contentious election, one that was being keenly followed from as far as Washington and Brussels, Mahmood Ahmadinejad defeated all pre-election projections to win Iran’s presidential elections.
Ahmadinejad did the unthinkable by campaigning for more employment and housing, and fighting corruption in the country’s oil sector. He also presented himself as a ‘street sweeper and a little servant’ who is prepared to make sacrifices for the people. As a result, he won the backing of the religious poor to defeat veteran political heavyweight Rafsanjani who was supported by pro-reform parties and wealthy Iranians fearful of a hardline monopoly of power in the Islamic republic.
Fourth of the seven children, Mahmood Ahmadinejad’s family arrived to the capital from his birthplace in Garmsar, 60 miles south of the capital. He did his BSc in civil engineering from Tehran’s University of Science and Industry, a religiously devout institution. His political career started in the early 90s when he became the governor of the north-western province of Ardebil. However, before he could polish his political skills, he was elected mayor of Tehran. His modest house was in contrast to the conspicuous lifestyles enjoyed by other senior leaders. However, it was here that he is credited with having made good use of PhD in traffic and transportation engineering to bring order to the streets of Tehran, and this is where he established his credentials as worthy leader.
In his first radio address since the results, Ahmadinejad declared that he seeks to create a ‘modern advanced, powerful and Islamic’ model for the world. During the campaign where his opponent had advocated better ties with the US, Ahmadinejad had said relations with Washington were not a cure for Iran. Similar reciprocal sentiments were voiced by US, immediately after the results which said that Iran was ‘out of step’ with a trend towards freedom and liberty.
But more than anything else, the election result is a clear indication that economic priorities, rather than the country’s foreign policy — be it relations with the US or Iran’s contentious nuclear programme — did the trick for the winner.
Name: Mahmood Ahmadinejad
