Iran: Parliament shortens Ahmadinejad's term

YNET NEWS ^ | December 3, 2006 | Dudi Cohen

[BigFinn]

Vast majority of Iranian lawmakers vote to move up presidential elections by 18 months, final say on matter up to Ahmadinejad's arch-rival.

Will Ahmadinejad's term be cut short? The Iranian parliament voted on Sunday to unite the presidential elections with the upcoming parliamentary ones, this according to the official Iranian news agency.

The proposal, which passed with a surprising 80 percent majority, may cut the term of sitting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by 18 months.

The bill must still be ratified by the Iranian constitutional committee, which is headed by former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad's arch-rival, a fact which many see as indicative that the bill will indeed be authorized.

Rafsanjani himself is considered one of the most powerful politicians in Iran and is currently running for a position in the Assembly of Experts, an 86-strong body of ayatollahs who monitor the Iranian Supreme Leader (a position currently held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei). The Assembly has the power to dismiss the Supreme Leader. Already existing tensions have heightened between Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani as the latter is pitted directly against Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor Masbah Yazdi who is also vying for a spot on the Assembly of Experts.

One of the reasons cited in the proposal for bringing the two elections together is cutting the costs brought on by a double election. Opponents to the bill claimed that cutting the president's term is unconstitutional and that parliament's term should be extended to meet the original date for the presidential election.

[PhilDragoo]

Click Professor Crocodile

[potlatch]

Thank you FARS for a very informative post.

[potlatch]

Lol Phil, I was hoping something more exciting would happen there!

[gotribe]

Supreme Leader? There's a title of Supreme Leader in this day and age! We oughta knock that nut on his a**.

[freema]

Thank you, FARS.

[PhilDragoo]

[potlatch]

You are getting so fast with new and good graphics. Hope they slam the door in his face permanently.

[devolve]

Bump

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks FARS.

[Marine_Uncle]

I really had a feeling it was going to come to this for the past few months. There are some Mullahs that want no part of him at this point. They will dump him and put in a moderate to get around the US continued demands.
They collectively figured we would have given in by now and started to play footzy with them. GWB has no plan to let that happen. And GWB can demand the DOS stays in line with what he wants regarding Iran.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[dixiechick2000]

Thanks for the Prof Crock link.


I'm surprised that there are mullahs
who are more extreme than those we
hear about.

It's scarey...

BTW, very cute, and apropos, graphic. ;o)

[contemplator]

That's the idea...run the election early, which will solidify his position for longer. He's a wily one.

Didn't rolling those same dice backfire on Gerhardt Schroeder?

[scannell]

The mullahs might be scared of his messianic stuff.

I don't know why, in the end the Mullas control the Army, not Ahmadinejad.

[endthematrix]

We've come a LONG way since the fall of the Soviet Union.

[ExSoldier]

since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The jury is still out on that. I'm not sure it's really gone. Watch Putin.

[GOPJ]

His sort of populist brinksmanship has torn the mask off prematurely and has Iran in a much poorer position diplomatically than it was before he started his "death to Israel" act. How nuts do you have to be to start worrying even the Russians?

You're right!

[.cnI redruM]

Could be...I wonder why they haven't decided to have him contract a serious illness?

I've always thought of the Mullahs as being the type that would fill someone full of lead and then tell Al-Jazzera he died of lead poisoning.

[dr_who_2]

Wez: They kill us, we kill them! Kill them! Kill them! Kill! Kill!

The Humungus: Be still my dog of war. I understand your pain. We've all lost someone we love. But we do it my way! We do it my way. Fear is our ally. The gasoline will be ours. Then you shall have your revenge.


Looks like Wez is going to have to wear the dog collar again.

[BigFinn]

The War Ayatollah.

if President Ahmadinejad’s spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi becomes the new Ayatollah this will signal an even more extremist 12th Imam, apocolyptic Iran. Read it all.