Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been President of the Islamic Republic of Iran since summer 2005. Here, surrounded by two bodyguards, he’s about to cast his vote for the second round of the 2005 presidential election. To everyone’s surprise, he will be elected against former President Ali Akbar Rafsandjani, whom many Iranians considered to be a corrupt man. Ahmadinejad’s reelection for a second term in June 2009 will be more turbulent. The opposition, accusing him of massive electoral fraud, sent millions of Iranians down in the streets. The regime did not conduct any serious investigation into these fraud accusations and chose the path of the harshest repression to put things back in order.
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a speech
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, after winning the second round of the presidential elections
Idée originale et conception : Carole Cheysson, Conception graphique : Emma Brante, Webdesign : Crosscross, Production : Les poissons volants, Musique : Googoosh, All images © Paolo Woods, Copyright Éditions Grasset, Paris.