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Iran: Voting for Change?

Next week Iranians go to the polls to elect a new president. But how much of a choice do they really have and what difference will it make?

Next week Iranians go to the polls to elect a new president. But how much of a choice do they really have? All six candidates are men, and all six have been chosen by the unelected Guardian Council. The members of the Council are selected by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has himself never stood for election. So how different are the views of each of the candidates and how much power will the next president have to set a new direction for the country? At a time when the world is looking at Iran following its nuclear deal with the west, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss what difference this presidential election will make.

Photo: Woman voting in Iranian parliamentary elections 2016. Credit: Getty Images

Available now

50 minutes

Last on

Sat 13 May 2017 03:06GMT

Contributors

Sanam VakilΒ - associate fellow at Chatham House whose latest article published in Foreign Affairs isΒ titled 'Iran's Next Supreme Leader - The Islamic Republic After Khameni'

Adnan Tabatabai - co-founder and CEO of the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient in Berlin

Azadeh Moaveni - journalist, lecturer and author of several books on Iran

Christopher de Bellaigue - author of 'The Islamic Enlightment: The Modern Struggle Between Faith and Reason'

Nasser Hadian - professor of political science and international relations at Tehran University

Broadcasts

  • Fri 12 May 2017 08:06GMT
  • Fri 12 May 2017 17:06GMT
  • Fri 12 May 2017 23:06GMT
  • Sat 13 May 2017 03:06GMT

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