June 12, 2013 -- Updated 0223 GMT (1023 HKT)
Two of the eight candidates running in Iran's upcoming presidential
election has dropped out of the race - offering up cryptic reasons for
doing so. FULL STORY
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PUBLIC OPINION SILENT
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WHY IRAN MATTERS
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CANDIDATES
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CANDIDATES
June 11, 2013 -- Updated 1253 GMT (2053 HKT)
Does the Iranian election matter?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Two presidential candidates leave the race on Monday
- Mohammad Reza Aref says his presence is "not beneficial to overall reform"
- Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel doesn't offer a reason for dropping out
- The 2013 presidential campaign has proceeded with little fanfare
Mohammad Reza Aref announced his decision to withdraw Monday on his campaign website.
Hours earlier, another candidate, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, also said he wouldn't be contesting.
Haddad-Adel didn't offer a reason.
Khamenei & 'rigged' Iranian elections
More drama in the Iranian election
Aref cited former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, a moderate with whom he has a close relationship.
"On Monday evening, I
received a letter from Mr. Mohammad Khatami and decided my presence to
the election is not beneficial to overall reform," he said on his official website.
Aref, 62, is a reformist and was Iran's vice president from 2001 to 2005, during Khatami's presidency.
A non-cleric, he is also a
member of the Expediency Council -- which mediates between Iran's
parliament and the non-elected Guardian Council.
Haddad-Adel, 68, is a conservative and former speaker of the parliament. His daughter is married to Ayatollah Khamenei's son.
The election is scheduled to take place Friday.
Where's the buzz?
But unlike the polarized presidential campaigns of 2009, the run up to this year's election has been tame.
"Iranian public opinion
is deafeningly silent, a silence that even the media close to the regime
has complained about," Ali Reza Eshraghi, Iran's Project Manager at the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), said in a commentary for CNN.com.
"Unlike the four
previous presidential elections during which the streets were turned
into lively and colorful carnivals with the supporters of different
candidates engaging in unending debates and fervent speeches, this time
it is only the walls of the streets that have been covered with banners
and posters."
Four years ago,
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election with 62.63% of the vote,
according to Iranian government sources. His nearest rival, Mir Hossein
Moussavi received 33.75%.
Demonstrations, protesting the outcome of the election, broke out across Tehran. Dozens of people were reported killed.
But despite widespread unrest, Ahmadinejad's re-election was formally certified by the Council of Guardians.
In July 2009, leading
clerics openly defied the Ayatollah and called for nullification of the
election, but to no avail. Ahmadinejad will complete his term this
month.
Because he has already served two terms, he cannot run again.
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- COPY http://edition.cnn.com/
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