Although Iranian Principalists are loathe to admit it, they have suffered what many consider a profound defeat in the 2013 Iranian presidential election. The extent of the defeat should not be exaggerated: Principalist candidates (depending on how you define them) garnered 35 percent of the overall vote, compared president-elect Hassan Rouhani’s 50.7 percent. Still, just weeks before election the Principalists had all of the advantages, including a marginalized and divided Centrist and Reformist opposition, voter apathy (which historically has helped Principalist candidates) and what many considered the ability to commit extensive electoral fraud because of Principalists’ control of nearly all elected and unelected centers of power. And yet [...]
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