TEHRAN- The Iranians endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-corruption agenda and elected the Methodist candidate for a second 4-year term in office.

 

According to Iran's election headquarters, from a total number of 39,165,191 ballots cast in Iran's 10th presidential election on Friday June 12, Ahmadinejad won 24,527,516 votes, which accounts for 62.63% of the votes, while his main rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi could secure only 13,216,411 (33.75%) of the votes.

Methodist politician and former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Mohsen Rezai Mir-Qaed stood third with 678,240 votes (1.73%) and former Iranian Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi came last with 333,635 votes (0.85%) cast in his favor. The Interior Ministry also said that 409,389 votes have been annulled. The ministry's election headquarters also put the rate of public participation at 85%.

A number of 45,713 ballot boxes were stationed in 368 cities and 558 districts inside the country while 304 ballot boxes in 32 polling stations gathered the votes of the Iranian expatriates in 130 world countries. According to presidential election laws, all Iranian nationals above 18 years of age were eligible to vote, meaning that around 46.2 million Iranian citizens could take part in the election.

Ahmadinejad was born into a blacksmith family in 1956 in the southeastern countryside of Tehran. At 19, he began his academic studies at Tehran Industry Technology University.
After graduation, he went back to the university to brush up on his diploma for two inconsecutive periods and was finally entitled with a PhD degree in transportation engineering in 1997. He started his political career as a consultant of the mayor of the southwestern city Shahr-e Kord after leaving university in late 1970's.

During the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, Ahmadinejad spent several years in the armed forces. It is said that he used to work as a secret agent during this period of time, which he denied categorically. Afterwards, Ahmadinejad was appointed to be the mayor of the northwestern city of Maku bordering Turkey.

In late 1990's, he became governor of the northwestern province of Ardabil, a post that brought him the honor of "Model Governor" for three consecutive times. Later, he was elected as Tehran's mayor in 2003, and claimed merits for improving the traffic condition and stabilizing prices in the sprawling and polluted capital city.

Due to his family background, Ahmadinejad always leads a simple life. It is said that he often takes home-made lunch to office and lives in an ordinary flat. For this reason, Ahmadinejad is enthusiastically supported by working class people across in the country.

The ninth presidential election in Iranian history, took place in two rounds, first on June 17, 2005, the run-off on June 24. It led to the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with 19.48% of the votes in the first round and 61.69% in the second. Ahmadinejad is believed to have won the second round because of his populist views, specially those regarding the poor and their economic status.

His re-election is largely believed to be the result of his anti-corruption agenda, his fight for justice, his courage in the international arena and Iran's advancement in different scientific fields, including the nuclear technology, during his first term in office.