Hardliner and reformist do battle in Iranian poll

IRANIANS packed polling stations from boutique-lined streets to conservative bastions yesterday with a choice that’s left the country divided and on edge: keeping hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power or electing a reformist who favours greater freedoms and improved ties with the United States.

Crowds formed quickly at many voting sites in areas considered both strongholds for Ahmadinejad and his main rival, reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi, who served as prime minister in the 1980s and has become the surprise hero of a powerful youth-driven movement. Due to heavy turnout, polling was extended by three hours to 9pm local time, (4.30pm GMT).

At several polling stations in Tehran, mothers held their children as they waited in long lines. “I hope to defeat Ahmadinejad today,” said Mahnaz Mottaghi, 23, after casting her ballot at a mosque in Tehran.