Iranians out in force to elect new president
Source: Agencies |
June 15, 2013, Saturday
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IRANIAN voters turned out in large numbers yesterday to choose a new president despite a limited choice of one relative moderate and three main hardline conservatives, with long queues forming outside polling stations.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to turn out in force, damning US officials who criticized the fairness of the election.
Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said there had been a large turnout across the country in response to the leader's call.
"They want to stand against the enemy," he said.
Israel, the United States and their allies, who accuse Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, top Iran's list of foes.
The interior ministry extended voting time by several hours, Press TV said, due to the large number of voters waiting outside polling stations.
Iranian analysts said a big turnout could benefit the sole moderate conservative candidate Hassan Rohani, since some of his natural supporters in the urban middle class had been toying with abstention.
Rohani's call to rehabilitate Iran's foreign relations and enact a "civil rights charter" has resounded with many Iranians eager for change.
"I voted for Rohani even though he is not my true representative," said Sara, in upmarket north Tehran. "I am a reformist and at best he is only a moderate but I voted for him because he is the best we have got at this point."
The failure of the hardline so-called "Principlists" to unite behind a single candidate could mean the conservative vote is split, raising the likelihood of a run-off in a week's time.
One Basij militiaman, Hossein, 27, said he was voting for Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator who is alone among the candidates in defending Tehran's current uncompromising stance in talks with world powers and an ideologically driven foreign policy.
"I will vote for Jalili. He is the only one I can trust to respect the values of the revolution. The supreme leader trusts him so much that he leads Iran's nuclear negotiations," said Hossein in Tehran. "Jalili is also the only candidate who won't be affected by international pressure on Iran."
A young woman who declined to give her name also said she was voting for Jalili.
"I voted to support the system. We love the system. God willing Mr Jalili will be elected."
But others said they would vote for Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of the Iranian capital, due to his track record of improving transport and infrastructure in the sprawling city.
"I am voting for Qalibaf because he made a difference in Tehran," said Soroush, a 29 year-old student. "He has worked hard since he became Tehran mayor and I think he is someone we can count on."
Even people from outside Tehran said they were impressed with the no nonsense, hard-working attitude of the mayor, a former national police chief.
"Qalibaf really built Tehran," Reza Sarvestani, 48.
"I'm from the provinces, and when I travel to Tehran I'm amazed."
Supporters for the other main hardline contender, Ali Akbar Velayati, appeared to be thinner on the ground, but those who said they would be voting for the former foreign minister said that they had liked his pledge to improve Iran's foreign relations.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to turn out in force, damning US officials who criticized the fairness of the election.
Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said there had been a large turnout across the country in response to the leader's call.
"They want to stand against the enemy," he said.
Israel, the United States and their allies, who accuse Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, top Iran's list of foes.
The interior ministry extended voting time by several hours, Press TV said, due to the large number of voters waiting outside polling stations.
Iranian analysts said a big turnout could benefit the sole moderate conservative candidate Hassan Rohani, since some of his natural supporters in the urban middle class had been toying with abstention.
Rohani's call to rehabilitate Iran's foreign relations and enact a "civil rights charter" has resounded with many Iranians eager for change.
"I voted for Rohani even though he is not my true representative," said Sara, in upmarket north Tehran. "I am a reformist and at best he is only a moderate but I voted for him because he is the best we have got at this point."
The failure of the hardline so-called "Principlists" to unite behind a single candidate could mean the conservative vote is split, raising the likelihood of a run-off in a week's time.
One Basij militiaman, Hossein, 27, said he was voting for Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator who is alone among the candidates in defending Tehran's current uncompromising stance in talks with world powers and an ideologically driven foreign policy.
"I will vote for Jalili. He is the only one I can trust to respect the values of the revolution. The supreme leader trusts him so much that he leads Iran's nuclear negotiations," said Hossein in Tehran. "Jalili is also the only candidate who won't be affected by international pressure on Iran."
A young woman who declined to give her name also said she was voting for Jalili.
"I voted to support the system. We love the system. God willing Mr Jalili will be elected."
But others said they would vote for Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of the Iranian capital, due to his track record of improving transport and infrastructure in the sprawling city.
"I am voting for Qalibaf because he made a difference in Tehran," said Soroush, a 29 year-old student. "He has worked hard since he became Tehran mayor and I think he is someone we can count on."
Even people from outside Tehran said they were impressed with the no nonsense, hard-working attitude of the mayor, a former national police chief.
"Qalibaf really built Tehran," Reza Sarvestani, 48.
"I'm from the provinces, and when I travel to Tehran I'm amazed."
Supporters for the other main hardline contender, Ali Akbar Velayati, appeared to be thinner on the ground, but those who said they would be voting for the former foreign minister said that they had liked his pledge to improve Iran's foreign relations.
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