Colour-coded cartoons poke fun at Iran's election candidates

Blogosphere abuzz with anonymous artist's caricatures of Ahmadinejad and his presidential rivals

Colourful cartoons have emerged of the four candidates in Iran's stormy presidential elections on Friday. The cartoons by an anonymous artist are going "viral" in the Iranian blogosphere and via email, and poke fun at the hardline incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Cartoon:
Ahmadinejad's colour is brown. And just in case anyone doesn't get it, the caricature shows the president about to enter a toilet.
He has been the butt of many jokes since he came to power four turbulent years ago. But they are getting nastier, with mudslinging and character assassination routine as polling day approaches. The levels of excitement and mobilisation have even been compared to the epoch-making years before the 1979 revolution.
Mir Hossein Mousavi. Cartoon:

The moderate most likely to beat Ahmadinejad, Mousavi has branded himself successfully as the green candidate – though the colour was chosen not for a commitment to environmental issues but for its Islamic resonance and as a symbol of progress.

Mehdi Karroubi. Cartoon

The reformist cleric's black represents the oil money he has promised to spend on ordinary people if he is elected – subtext: unlikely
Mohsen Rezai. Cartoon:

The other conservative candidate, and a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Rezai is officially colourless, his campaign largely digital. But these images by an anonymous Iranian artist suggest other possibilities. Rezai is portrayed in red to mark his military past – subtext: blood on his hands.