Could you be president of Iran?

I want to send a message of hope to the people of Iran and to show them that the whole world is watching what happens there. Garry Kasparov

Virtual freedom: Cyberspace helps Iranians raise their voice

By Tara Kangarlou, CNN

June 11, 2013 -- Updated 1807 GMT (0207 HKT)

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/11/world/meast/iran-elections-virtual

http://we-choose.org/

Zahra the virtual candidate

 Zahra's paradise: the Iranian woman running for president

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22803971

 http://www.zahrasparadise.com/

Quiz: Could you be president of Iran?

To run for president in Iran, candidates must fit the criteria outlined in Iran's election law. The Guardian Council is keen to "prevent corruption and deviation" in high office. Would you pass its strict vetting procedure?

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22846140

Economy Not for Donkeys as Crisis Tops Iran Voter Concerns

By Alaa Shahine - Jun 13, 2013 8:48 AM GMT

Iran’s next president is about to find out that economics is not just for donkeys after all. Decades after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini dismissed it as an asinine matter following theIslamic Revolution in 1979, fixing the worst economy in about 20 years tops the list of issues voters in tomorrow’s election say they care about, according to the Iranian Students Polling Agency.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-12/economy-not-just-for-donkeys-as-crisis-tops-iran-voter-concerns.html

  

Iran's Big Yawn

The challenge for Iran's supreme leader: How to make a sham presidential election look like a real one.

BY NAZILA FATHI | JUNE 12, 2013

... The government has slowed the Internet to a crawl and blocked certain websites. It's gotten so bad that even the conservative media have been complaining about censorship. ...

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/12/irans_big_yawn

Iran’s election is neither free nor fair – but its outcome matters

TRITA PARSI

Special to The Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Jun. 13 2013, 7:38 AM EDT

Last updated Thursday, Jun. 13 2013, 2:28 PM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/irans-election-neither-free-or-fair-but-it-still-matters/article12508248/

Trita Parsi is an author and the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council . His latest book A Single Roll of the Dice – Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran (Yale University Press) was released in 2012.

Why Iran’s Rigged Election Matters

By the Editors Jun 12, 2013 11:00 PM GMT

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-12/why-iran-s-rigged-election-matters.html

JUNE 13, 2013 12:00 AM

Iran’s Meaningless Presidential Elections

We should focus on the clear objectives of Iran’s real rulers — not a sham vote.

By Clifford D. May

Why do Iran’s rulers even bother with this charade? For one, I think, because most dictators still like the sound of the word “democracy.” Think of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Another reason: As exiled dissident Mojtaba Vahedi told theWall Street Journal’s Sohrab Ahmari, the supreme leader likes to have “a fall guy who at the same time has no real power — someone with no serious responsibility but who’s nevertheless accountable for every failure.”

 ... ... ...

It is this reality — not an Iranian election — that we should be discussing. Only then can we hope to formulate a serious national-security strategy for the challenging years that lie ahead.

— Clifford D. May is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a policy institute focusing on national security.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/350682/irans-meaningless-presidential-elections-clifford-d-may

Texas Hold 'Em in Tehran

Can the Supreme Leader bluff and bully his way to getting what he wants in Iran’s crucial upcoming presidential election?

BY YASMIN ALEM | MAY 21, 2013

Iran's presidential elections can sometimes feel like bad theater, a sort of lackluster process of going through the motions -- until, of course, they're not. ...

To say that Iranian politics is the realm of contingencies is a considerable understatement. Even now that the list of the vetted and approved candidates is out, the race could still change substantially as they maneuver and drop out. There's still more than a few hands of cards to be played before election day.

Ed. —This article has been updated to take account of the Guardian Council's May 21 rejection of the candidacies of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/05/21/iran_presidential_election_candidates?page=0,1

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Iran’s protest movement struggles to make its voice heard in an election where they have no good options.

BY KELLY GOLNOUSH NIKNEJAD | JUNE 3, 2013

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/03/green_movement_iran_elections

  Iran nuke policy ‘unchangeable’ no matter who wins

By AP / Ali Akbar Dareini and Brian MurphyJune 12, 2013

 Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

http://world.time.com/2013/06/12/iran-nuke-policy-unchangeable-no-matter-who-wins/

The Ayatollah's Point Man

Meet Saeed Jalili, the holier-than-thou front-runner in Iran's presidential election.

BY ABBAS MILANI | JUNE 12, 2013

Abbas Milani is the Hamid and Christina Moghadam director of Iranian studies at Stanford University.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/12/the_ayatollah_s_point_man_jalili_iran_presidential_election

Comment: Meet Saeed Jalili, the front-runner in Iran's election

13 JUN 2013, 2:01 PM   -   SOURCE: ABBAS MILANI, FOREIGN POLICY

In today's Iran, where more than 60 percent of college science degrees are earned by women -- in spite of the obstacles the regime throws in their way -- ideas like Jalili's are a hard sell. That might be why, with every passing day, his candidacy is also proving to be a harder sell -- even for his powerful supporters.

© Foreign Policy, 2013

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1777829/Comment-Meet-Saeed-Jalili-the-front-runner-in-Iran