| In a striking repudiation of the ultra-conservatives who wield power in Iran,
Iranian voters overwhelmingly elected a mild-mannered cleric seeking greater
personal freedoms for the public and a more conciliatory approach with the
world. |
| Iran’s interior minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, announced
that Hassan Rowhani, 64, had more than 50 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a
runoff in the race to succeed the outgoing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose
tenure was defined largely by provocation with the west and a seriously hobbled
economy at home. |
| The hardline conservatives aligned with Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei placed at the back of the pack of six candidates,
indicating that Iranian’s were looking to their next president to change
the tone, if not the direction of the nation, by choosing a cleric who served as
the lead nuclear negotiator under reformist Mohammad Khatami. |
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/world/middleeast/iran-election.html?emc=edit_na_20130615 |
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