Iranian parliament votes to cut Ahmadinejad’s term short
Allahpundit

I won’t even pretend to know what this is about. But it passed overwhelmingly and it looks like it’s going to be rubber-stamped by Rafsanjani, who heads the country’s constitutional committee and who happens to be the guy Ahmadinejad defeated in the last presidential election. If it’s ratified, it’ll push the end of his term up from August 2009 to February 2008, which could affect our own election depending upon who replaces him. ...

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Iran: Parliament shortens Ahmadinejad's term 

Vast majority of Iranian lawmakers vote to move up presidential elections by 18 months, final say on matter up to Ahmadinejad's arch-rival

Will Ahmadinejad's term be cut short? The Iranian parliament voted on Sunday to unite the presidential elections with the upcoming parliamentary ones, this according to the official Iranian news agency.

The proposal, which passed with a surprising 80 percent majority, may cut the term of sitting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by 18 months.

The bill must still be ratified by the Iranian constitutional committee, which is headed by former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad's arch-rival, a fact which many see as indicative that the bill will indeed be authorized.

Rafsanjani himself is considered one of the most powerful politicians in Iran and is currently running for a position in the Assembly of Experts, an 86-strong body of ayatollahs who monitor the Iranian Supreme Leader (a position currently held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei). The Assembly has the power to dismiss the Supreme Leader. Already existing tensions have heightened between Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani as the latter is pitted directly against Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor Masbah Yazdi who is also vying for a spot on the Assembly of Experts.  ...