Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Ayatollah Khamenei explains the difference between US and Iranian presidential elections

I've just learned from Gene at Harry's Place that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, has a Facebook page. (No, that's not a joke.  It really exists, and appears to be genuine.)  On June 13 Khamenei posted a useful explanation, in graphic form, of the differences between presidential election processes in the US and Iran.

(As Evan Siegel noted in a comment, it's odd that the Iranian side of this comparison doesn't mention the mediating role of the Guardian Council, which needs to approve all aspiring candidates and routinely disqualifies almost all of them.  We might add that women and members of religious minorities are ineligible, and that voters who complain too loudly about stolen elections can get imprisoned, beaten, and sometimes tortured.)

In case you've been wondering who ultimately controls elections in the US, now you know.

—Jeff Weintraub