Ultra-conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept to a surprise landslide victory in presidential elections on Saturday and urged the nation to rally together after a vote that exposed deep class divisions. Ahmadinejad, 48, won the backing of the religious poor to defeat veteran political heavyweight Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was supported by pro-reform parties and wealthy Iranians fearful of a hardline monopoly on power in the Islamic state. âToday is a day when we have to forget all our rivalries and turn them into friendships,â Ahmadinejad said in comments broadcast on state radio, his first since being declared winner of Fridayâs election. âWe are one nation and one big family. We should help each other to make a great society.â In his victory speech, Ahmadinejad hinted at a shake up in the oil sector, saying oil deals needed to be clarified. But amid rumours that he will purge government ministries after many top officials backed his opponent, he stressed the need for unity in the nation of 67 million. âOur main goal today is to create an exemplary, advanced and powerful Islamic nation,â he said.
In a campaign where candidates advocated better ties with the United States, Ahmadinejad said relations with Washington were not a cure of Iranâs ills. âThis all but closes the door for a breakthrough in US-Iran relations,â said Karim Sadjadpour, Tehran-based analyst for the International Crisis Group. Ahmadinejad, who will be Iranâs first non-cleric president for 24 years when he takes office in August, has also used firm language over Iranâs controversial nuclear programme, saying it was the nationâs right to develop its nuclear technology. Analysts said Ahmadinejadâs election was unlikely to lead to any immediate change in nuclear policy, as the final word in that and other matters of state lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. âI think Ahmadinejad is less amenable to compromise on the nuclear issue, but it is unclear how much influence he will have on it,â said Sadjadpour.