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Ahmadinejad slams 'Western' democracy as 'capitalist'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

NOVEMBER 8, 2012 11:10

A day after millions of Americans voted in a pivotal election, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad derided "Western" democratic elections as a "battleground for the capitalists, and an excuse for hefty spending," AFP reported Thursday.

"Democracy has turned into the rule of a minority over the majority," said the Iranian, who himself faced international allegations over rigged voting in his 2009 reelection.

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Speaking at a Bali forum on democracy promotion attended by the likes of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, Ahmadinejad said "even in countries who claim to be the forerunners of democracy," only a wealthy few reached positions of power.

In a reference to international concern over Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad dismissively asserted that "today there is the development of some weapons even more dangerous than atomic arms."

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