TEHRAN: Presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani discussed fashion, sex and Islam in a rare televised chat with a panel of youngsters, ahead of an election marked by a battle for Iran’s huge youth vote.

The broadcast late on Saturday was a deftly-edited election campaign ad, but nevertheless was highly unusual in the Islamic state, where officials seldom expose themselves to such questioning by the young.

Like other conservative candidates in the race, Rafsanjani, a mid-ranking cleric, is trying to rebrand himself as a liberal in a country where half of the 67 million population is under 25 and the voting age is 15.

Rafsanjani, 70, who held the presidency between 1989 and 1997, told a panel of about 20 young men and women, some in all-enveloping black chador, some in colourful scarves, that they should have more choice in what they wear.

“Design and colour depends on people’s taste ... there should be clothes, but no nudity!” Rafsanjani told the round-table discussion group, which burst into laughter.

The Islamic Republic has strict rules on women’s dress, ordering them to cover their hair and disguise the shape of their bodies. But restrictions relaxed somewhat after reformist President Mohammad Khatami took office in 1997.

Asked what he thought about relationships between the sexes, Rafsanjani said religion should be no barrier.

“In the Islam I know, if implemented, no one would feel limited in their instincts,” said Rafsanjani who has in the past spoken in favour of temporary marriage — a practice that allows Shias to wed for as little as a few minutes.

The campaign ad contrasted with those of the other seven candidates, which have mostly consisted of straight interviews touching on issues ranging from unemployment to foreign policy.

Former police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who most polls put second behind Rafsanjani, has perhaps the slickest campaign ads so far, featuring him co-piloting a commercial passenger jet and addressing town-hall style meetings.—Reuters