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Ahmadinejad's rivals: 12-year-old, Saddam lookalike

Registration for Iranian presidency race completed. Koresh Mouzuni, 12, dreams of leasing Hawaii to Jews 'so that they don't kill the children in Gaza', promises not to make his father a minister

Ahmadinejad, beware: The registration for the Iranian presidency race was completed Saturday night, with quite a few interesting figures arriving at the election head headquarters over the weekend to try their luck and enjoy free publicity.

 

Among the candidates, that included were a man dressed as a cowboy and a Saddam Hussein lookalike, was a 12-year-old boy who according to local media reports was the only one to submit a written work plan as to his policies should he be elected.

 

According to the boy, Koresh Mouzuni of Tehran, his top priority would be to "prevent the killing of children in the world, like what is happening in Gaza."

 

Reporters were surprised to see Mouzuni arrive at the election headquarters with his father. But despite his young age, they treated him like an ordinary candidate and presented him with questions about Israel and the Iranian nuclear program.

 

As for Israel, there is no doubt that the child has been inspired by his current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in regards to ways to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Mouzuni, "I will buy Hawaii, Obama's birthplace, from the United States and lease it to Israelis who will go live there – so that they don’t kill the children in Gaza."
 

Koresh Mouzuni. 'A president doesn't have to know everything'

 

And what about the Iranian nuclear plan? The reporters asked the boy if he knew the meaning of "yellow cake" – one of the stages in the uranium enrichment process. He replied that "a president doesn’t have to know everything about nuclear energy and know how to enrich uranium himself. He must know how to manage things."

 

He added, "I have a lot of respect for the other candidates, but my goals are more important."

 

The young candidate has already begun thinking about his future coalition, saying that "if my candidacy is approved I will appoint Ahmadinejad as my first deputy." He also promised not to appoint his father as a minister in his future government, and noted that his natural voters were "all the mothers of children".

 

Jews cannot file candidacy

Some 250 candidates have filed the required forms for the presidential race – a drop compared to the last elections, which saw more than 1,000 potential candidates.

 

Over the past five days, every Iranian meeting several requirements was given the opportunity to submit his candidacy. Those registering must be politicians or clerics, Shiite Muslims who are loyal to the values of the Islamic revolutions. Jews, being members of a minority, cannot submit their candidacy.

 

The Guardian Council of the Constitution is expected to release the final list of approved candidates within 10 days. The council is comprises of six legalists and six clerics who are not elected, but directly and indirectly appointed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on every matter concerning the country.

 

Two more famous people who joined the presidency race on Saturday were former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is considered the most serious candidate in the reformist movement, and former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi, who has small chances of winning.

 

Ahmadinejad himself filed his candidacy on Friday and said that he was "filled with hope" as to his chances to be reelected.

 

Meanwhile, Koresh Mouzuni is already making plans for the day after the elections. Should the Guardian Council of the Constitution fail to approve his candidacy, he said, "I plan to start preparing for the next presidential elections."

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.10.09, 10:20
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