Hardline Tehran Mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad swept to a shock landslide victory in Iran's presidential election yesterday, spelling an end to years of hard-fought social reform and setting the Islamic republic on a collision course with the West.
Iran's all-powerful supreme leader boasted that the US had been "humiliated deep inside" by the election, which saw moderate cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani -- who was in favor of resuming dialogue with Washington -- trounced by Ahmadinejad.
A self-proclaimed fundamentalist seeking a return to the moral "purity" of the early years of the Islamic revolution, Ahmadinejad vowed he would "build up an exemplary, developed and powerful Islamic society."
"I am highly proud because I received people's kindness and trust," the 49-year-old president-elect told state media. "Today, all competition should turn into friendship. We are part of a big family that should go hand in hand to build our proud Iran."
Final results gave Ahmadinejad 61.69 percent against Rafsanjani's 35.92 percent. Turnout of the 46.8 million eligible voters was reported at 59.72 percent, slightly lower than last week's first round of the vote.
Ahmadinejad's controversial victory leaves anti-Western ultra-conservatives in complete control of every elected and unelected institution in Iran and effectively slams the door on any chance of reconciliation with the US.
Rafsanjani had promised to press on with detente and reforms. His embarrassing defeat could end his long political career and remove a moderating influence within the 26-year-old theocracy.
The US was quick to scorn Iran's choice.
"We have seen nothing that dissuades us from our view that Iran is out of step with the rest of the region and the currents of freedom and liberty," State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also said there were "serious deficiencies" in the election process, noting that "many candidates, including all the women, were barred from standing by an unelected body."
Ahmadinejad will become the first non-cleric to hold Iran's presidency since 1981, a fact of little meaning to those who fear he will take away social liberties that have been gained in the past eight years.
He has insisted that freedom in Iran "is already beyond what could be imagined."
Iran's religious right has been angered over the "decadence" seen under outgoing President Mohammad Khatami, such as an easing of the strict Islamic dress code, unmarried couples flirting in the streets, increased foreign involvement in the economy and a less radical approach to international affairs.
They have also been urging a more confrontational stance in an already tense nuclear stand-off with the international community.
"The right wing now has total control. They are not necessarily the kind of people who want a deal," a senior Western diplomat said.
Last week, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy warned that British, French and German efforts to convince Iran to give up bomb-making technology was "at stake" in the election.
The election was seen as the most critical since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and a spat over alleged fraud exposed deep divisions at the top of the regime.
Rafsanjani and two beaten reformist candidates alleged that Ahmadinejad's shock first-round vote success earlier this month came thanks to orchestrated fraud carried by well-financed hardline regime elements such as the Guardians Council, the Basij militia and Revolutionary Guards.
also see story:
US denounces Ahmadinejad's victory in Iran as `flawed'
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)