Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2008

PolicyWatch #1342: Iran's Parliamentary Elections: Assured Victory for the Supreme Leader

Mehdi Khalaji

February 2008

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Abstract

As Iran's March 14 parliamentary elections approach, the prospects for the reformist/technocratic coalition are predictably bleak. Yet, President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad is expected to lose ground as well. Although his conservative critics are likely to pick up a significant number of seats, the big winner will be Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose role as arbiter and decisionmaker will be reinforced even more.