29 Mar 2024
Saturday 1 June 2013 - 13:42
Story Code : 30794

Iran today: Presidential election --- Reactions to the televised debate

Iran today: Presidential election --- Reactions to the televised debate
[caption id="attachment_30797" align="alignright" width="300"] Behind The Scenes At The Televised Debate[/caption]
Iran's eight Presidential candidatesheld their first televised debateon Friday, a four-hour session that focussed on the economy.
Press TValsooffers a summary of the debate.

Two candidates --- the moderate Hassan Rouhani and the principlist Saeed Jalili --- had their campaign teams live-tweet from the event.

Although the candidates were encouraged to give short answers, some were more vocal than others. This clip shows Mohammad-Reza Aref especially but also Mohsen Rezaei becoming irritated with the host.

Press TV also published a video report, showing reactions to the debate.

KhabarOnlinereportedthe final comments each candidate made at the end of the debate.

Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf thanked the "great nation" of Iran for enduring the four-hour debate, and made sure to mention the most important election buzzword --- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's call to make the election a "political epic".

Ali Akbar Velayati ended with a note of hope that the Iranian nation would continue to revive the great Islamic civilization.

Saeed Jalili, in contrast, ended with a note of caution, saying that Iran needed to recognize its weaknesses.

Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel finished with a note about sanctions, saying that if the Iranian nation managed to get through the Iran-Iraq War it could certainly endure the sanctions, because of economic strength.

Mohammad-Reza Aref merely thanked the Iranian people for participating in the election and said that the best candidate should win.

Mohsen Rezaei was optimistic, saying he saw a bright future and hoped that sanctions would be converted into opportunities and that he had hope in Iran's youth.

Hassan Rouhani ended by pledging to give Iranians security and relief from poverty.

Mohammad Gharazi called on Iranians to ensure a good turnout and said the Americans should retreat.

Following the debate, two news agencies --- ISNA and Asr Iran --- conducted mini-polls on their websites, asking readers to decide which candidate they thought came out well. ISNA's poll put Aref in the lead with 40.3% by Friday afternoon, followed by Rouhani (18%), Qalibaf (13%) and Jalili (6%). Asr Iran put Aref in the lead with 31% followed by Rouhani with 29% (thanks to the Wilson Center for data).

By Enduring America

 

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