ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to arrive in the Kurdish provincial capital of Sanandaj on Saturday to take part in a series of election rallies in the city ahead of next month’s general elections, Sanandaj Governor Abdulmuhammad Zahidi said.
President Rouhani is running for re-election with the support of so-called moderate forces in Iran including Kurdish voters whose king-maker impact could secure a second term for the president.
Rouhani was scheduled to visit Sanandaj on Thursday, but the trip was postponed to Saturday.
“President Rouhani will inaugurate several projects involving the economy of the province as well as reconstruction, the infrastructure, dams, water projects, and telecommunications estimated at around 747 billion tomans [230 million dollars],” Zahidi told Iranian state media.
The Iranian president has in the past stated that his government will work for broader national and religious rights in the country including in the Kurdish regions.
Critics however have accused the president of “sidelining” the largely impoverished Kurdish areas in the government’s fiscal planning. According to official data, the unemployment rates in Kurdish areas are considerably higher than the rest of the country.
“The current government does not want the Sanandaj province to develop,” said Ahsan Alawi, member of the Iranian parliament representing Sanandaj in the Majles.
Alawi called Rouhani’s trip to Sanandaj “election propaganda” where the president will inaugurate projects “to garner votes.”
The twelfth presidential elections are scheduled to be held on May 19. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday he would confront anyone trying to interfere in Iran's election, in which conservative hardliners will try to defeat the moderate Rouhani.
President Rouhani is running for re-election with the support of so-called moderate forces in Iran including Kurdish voters whose king-maker impact could secure a second term for the president.
Rouhani was scheduled to visit Sanandaj on Thursday, but the trip was postponed to Saturday.
“President Rouhani will inaugurate several projects involving the economy of the province as well as reconstruction, the infrastructure, dams, water projects, and telecommunications estimated at around 747 billion tomans [230 million dollars],” Zahidi told Iranian state media.
The Iranian president has in the past stated that his government will work for broader national and religious rights in the country including in the Kurdish regions.
Critics however have accused the president of “sidelining” the largely impoverished Kurdish areas in the government’s fiscal planning. According to official data, the unemployment rates in Kurdish areas are considerably higher than the rest of the country.
“The current government does not want the Sanandaj province to develop,” said Ahsan Alawi, member of the Iranian parliament representing Sanandaj in the Majles.
Alawi called Rouhani’s trip to Sanandaj “election propaganda” where the president will inaugurate projects “to garner votes.”
The twelfth presidential elections are scheduled to be held on May 19. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday he would confront anyone trying to interfere in Iran's election, in which conservative hardliners will try to defeat the moderate Rouhani.
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