Votes in Iran

Fairly surprised that this hasn't been covered yet (although if it has feel free to destroy)

Today the citizens of Iran are voting in the second round of their Presidential Elections. The race is between a reformer and a hard-liner, here's a link to the story:

news.bbc.co.uk...

Considering the fact that many demonise and constantly "attack" Iran, I'm really a bit shocked that people aren't being vocal about this since it will have a tremendous impact on the West's policy in relation to Iran. The Bush Whitehouse especially.

Originally posted by DenyAllKnowledge
Fairly surprised that this hasn't been covered yet (although if it has feel free to destroy)

Same here, well I've not noticed it, some good links from DenyAllKnowledge's link:

Q&A: Iran's election issues
Iran election: Where candidates stand

The two candidates:
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been a dominant figure in Iranian politics since the 1980s.

Described as a "pragmatic conservative", he is part of the religious establishment, but also open to a broader range of views.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was an obscure figure when he was appointed to be mayor of Tehran in the spring of 2003 - and was not much better known when he ran for president of Iran two years later.

But in a result that shocked observers, the hardline conservative came second in the field of seven candidates, setting up a run-off with former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

The contest is between Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani a cautious reformer and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a hardline conservative
The west would want the more moderate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to win as he is well....more moderate.

The elections have already seen much voting fraud as six polling stations in the capital have reported voting fraud.