The presence of Ahmadinejad’s favorite Rahmi Mashaei and former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on the ballot sheet would polarize the election and intensify pressure on the regime, Abbas Abdi said.
Abdi, an analyst and ally of former president of Iranian regime Mohammad Khatami told the Asr-e Iran newspaper: “If the government’s candidate is verified, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will remain in the field and a polarized situation will develop.
“One cannot guess what will happen if this situation, but it will be very complicated and it depends on how they play it.
“I believe that in the next two weeks these two major political forces will push all other candidates to the sidelines.”
But if Ahmadinejad’s candidate is disqualified, Abdi believes Ahmadinejad will not give up easily.
He added: “What he will do, is unknown. I just know that he has put all his eggs in one basket for this election and he won’t remain quiet.
“The government is also presently stuck between two complex forces and does not know what to do with either of them.
“In other elections, everyone agreed in advance who would be elected. But this isn’t happening now and they are going to have to pay the price.
“The problem is that the ruling system doesn’t get along with either Mashaei or Rafsanjani, and this is a recipe for trouble. Things will more fast over the next two weeks and the regime’s political structure may not be able to bear it.”