Iran's election 'pre-cooked'

Seven.com.au:

Iran's presidential election will not be free or fair because only candidates approved by an unelected religious committee can stand, a U.S.-based human rights group said on Sunday.

Human Rights Watch said election laws prevented candidates from outside the ruling elite from running for president. READ MORE

"Iran's elections for all practical purposes are pre-cooked," Joe Stork, deputy director of the New York-based group's Middle East division, said in a statement.

"The Guardian Council appoints a few candidates and then Iranians get to choose from this very restricted list."

Eight candidates are running in Friday's election. More than 1,000 had registered for the race, but the 12-man Guardian Council excluded all but six. Two reformists were reinstated on the list after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei intervened.

The council, made up of Shi'ite Muslim clerics and jurists, excluded all the 89 women who wanted to run, as well as many opponents of Iran's clerical establishment. Those it approved are all present or former government or security officials.

"These elections are neither free nor fair," Stork said.

"Iranians cannot vote for candidates who represent alternative viewpoints from those of the ruling elite."

Officials were not immediately available for comment on the views expressed by Human Rights Watch. ...