Eyes of the world on Iran as voters choose new president

IRAN went to the polls yesterday to choose a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

More than 50 million eligible voters could select from the six candidates who remained in the race – a moderate, four conservatives and a hardliner.

All are loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters.

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Cleric Hasan Rowhani moved to the forefront as the moderates’ choice after another pro-reform candidate pulled out on Tuesday.

Mr Ahmadinejad cannot run for a third consecutive term in office.

As the polls opened, arguments over whether to boycott the ballot still raged at coffee shops, kitchen tables and on social media among many liberal-leaning Iranians.

The choice – once easy for many who turned their back in anger after years of crackdowns – has been suddenly complicated by an unexpected chance to perhaps wage a bit of payback against Iran’s rulers.

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The rising fortunes of former nuclear negotiator Mr Rowhani have brought something of a dilemma for many Iranians who faced down security forces four years ago. Should they stay away from the polls in a silent protest or jump back into the mix in a system they claim has been disgraced by vote rigging?

But Mr Rowhani is still the only fallback option for moderates in an election that once seemed preordained for a pro-establishment loyalist.

Iran’s presidency is a big prize, but not a crown jewel. The president does not set major policies or have the powers to make important social or political openings.

That rests with the ruling theocracy and its protectors, led by the immensely powerful Revolutionary Guard

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But for liberal-leaning Iranians, upsetting the leadership’s apparent plans by electing Mr Rowhani could open more room for reformist voices.

It would mark a rare bit of table-turning after years of punishing reprisals for the 2009 protests, the worst domestic unrest in 
Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

And there are many other factors at play. Many Iranians say they are putting ideology aside and want someone who can stabilise the sanctions-battered economy. This could boost candidates such as Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who is seen as a financial steady hand.

The rest of the candidates approved to run by election overseers – from more than 680 hopefuls – were stacked heavily with pro-establishment figures such as hardliner Saeed Jalili, the current nuclear negotiator.

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