TEHRAN, June 16: Iran’s presidential campaign ended on Thursday with moderate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in front, but unlikely to win in the first round of voting.
Friday’s vote, contested by seven hopefuls, could determine the fate of Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West and ties with the United States, dubbed the ‘Great Satan’ in Iran.
But whoever wins, real power in the country will still rest with conservative, anti-West religious authorities.
About 300 people protested against Iran’s political system in central Tehran on Wednesday. Some were arrested because the demonstration was illegal.
Opinion polls indicate Hashmei Rafsanjani, 70, who wants better ties with the West, will not win the 50 per cent support he needs to avoid a deciding vote with his nearest challenger, possibly on June 24.
“The election ... is one of the most unpredictable in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran ... All pundits believe that the president will be elected in the second round,” the reformist Etemad daily said.
The polls show Mr Rafsanjani’s main rivals are conservative former police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and reformist Mostafa Moin, an education minister under outgoing President Mohammad Khatami. Some have shown conservative Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has gained ground.
Such polls have often proved unreliable in past elections.
UPSET NOT RULED OUT: “There is very close rivalry between Moin and Rafsanjani, and also Qalibaf is not in a bad situation,” Mohammad Reza Khatami, a Moin aide, said.
Analysts say an upset Moin victory cannot be ruled out and the outcome of a Rafsanjani runoff against Mr Moin or Mr Qalibaf would be hard to predict.
Rival young campaigners gathered on Tehran’s streets on Wednesday night, clogging traffic until the early hours of Thursday, in a bid to win over undecided voters.—Reuters
