Iranian presidential race too close to call

IRANIANS packed polling stations yesterday in a tight presidential race between a well-known cleric, the default choice for reformists, and a hard-liner seeking to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The run-off election capped weeks of campaigning that came down to a choice over sharply differing visions for the future of Iran and options for expanding relations with the West. First returns were expected late last night.

The narrow winner last week, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, has received a flood of support from progressive and business groups seeking to protect the liberalising reforms since the late 1990s.

His surprise opponent, Tehran’s ultra-conservative mayor, Mahoud Ahmadinejad, has built on his strong appeal among Iran’s impoverished classes and powerful forces opposing any changes to the Islamic regime.

Turnout was strong, and voting was extended by two hours. Further extensions could happen - in last week’s first round, an extra four hours of voting was added.

The reformist-led Interior Ministry sought to halt voting at some stations in Tehran because of “interference” by partisans, but the ruling theocracy did not immediately act on the request, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The report gave no other details.

A ministry worker who was at a polling station reminding officials to watch for violations was arrested after he got in an argument with representatives of one of the two candidates, a ministry spokesman said.

The first round ended with bitter accusations that the Revolutionary Guards and its vigilante wings intimidated voters to swing the poll toward Mr Ahmadinejad. Election overseers told the groups to stay clear of polling sites.

The polling stations displayed the tight character of the race. Lines were long in working-class areas of south Tehran, an Ahmadinejad stronghold. But polling stations were also clogged in well-off areas of the city where Mr Rafsanjani is favoured.

About 63% of Iran’s nearly 47 million voters cast ballots in the first round.

The two rivals represent sharply differing views.

Rasfanjani backers hope he will preserve greater social freedoms that arose in the 1990s and will keep a steady hand on Iran’s nuclear programme. Mr Ahmadinejad sought support among those embittered by the social changes and those who have suffered in Iran’s faltering economy.

Daryoush Hamadi, a 30-year-old Rafsanjani supporter, said: “The country is doomed if hard-liners take the presidency.”

A 17-year-old voter, Masoud Memarian, said he backed Mr Ahmadinejd “for the sake of God.”

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, considered a leading Ahmadinejad supporter, told praying crowds at Tehran University yesterday: “Every vote you cast is a bullet in the hearts” of the US.

In the first round, Mr Rafsanjani stumbled to first place with just 21% of the vote. Mr Ahmadinejad took about 19.5%, forcing Iran’s first presidential run-off.