Iranians Vote Friday Following Hard-Fought Presidential Campaign
By VOA News
11 June 2009
Iran＇s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 10 Jun 2009
Iranians go to the polls Friday to vote in a fiercely contested presidential election, following a frenzied campaign over several weeks.
The poll has emerged as a close race between conservative incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the reformist candidate, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi.
The campaign reached a crescendo in the past few days, with dueling mass public rallies by supporters of President Ahmadinejad and Mr. Mousavi, that drew tens of thousands of people into the streets of Tehran.
The highly charged campaign has also featured a high degree of public animosity among the four candidates, who have traded insults and made allegations of lying and corruption.
Campaigning ended Wednesday, 24 hours before polls open Friday morning at 0330 UTC.
Reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi and conservative former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei are also contesting Friday＇s election.
On Wednesday, the political chief of Iran＇s conservative Revolutionary Guards accused Mr. Mousavi＇s supporters of trying to inspire a "velvet revolution" -- a reference to the non-violent ouster of Czechoslovakia＇s Communist government in 1989. Yadollah Javani warned that any attempt at a revolution would be "nipped in the bud," as he put it.
At a rally in Tehran earlier Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad said his opponents were using smear tactics reminiscent of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Several key issues have been central to the debates among candidates, including the country＇s economy, nuclear program and foreign relations.
If no candidate wins an outright majority on Friday, the two leading candidates will face each other in a run-off vote on June 19.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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