TEHRAN, 17 June 2005 — Iranian candidates ended a colorful Western-style campaign yesterday, just 24 hours before the polls open in a closely fought race for president no one appears to win an outright victory. US President George W. Bush challenged the legitimacy of the election, accusing the country’s leaders of extending their “oppressive record” by blocking reformists from running and jailing dissenters.
Some 500 people demonstrated in front of the main radio and television building in Tehran, calling on Iranians to boycott the election. Hundreds of riot police and security forces dispersed the protest, arresting at least five demonstrators. About eight others were injured in scuffles during the demonstration.
Campaigning reached a climax in the early hours, as many supporters rushed to paste posters of candidates on walls before the deadline arrived. The occasion also allowed many young men and women to stay late and enjoy election parties in a relaxed atmosphere not usually seen at other times.
Candidates, and particularly front-runner Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, have resorted to popular Western-style tactics to win public attention. In recent days, young boys and heavily made-up girls, some of them roller-skating teenagers, with loose, colorful headscarves, had joined Rafsanjani’s election campaign, distributing his posters and sticking his photos to their cars.
Hard-line candidate Mohsen Rezaei withdrew from the race late Wednesday, leaving seven candidates, most of them hard-liners, in the field.
Rezaei, one of four most hard-line candidates, said he withdrew at the advice of senior clerics that the conservative vote was dangerously split in today’s election. However, Rezaei did not endorse another hard-liner. The former head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Rezaei had little chance of winning and was trailing in opinion polls.
Other hard-line candidates have said they do not intend to withdraw, meaning the conservative vote will be split among three contenders: Former radio and television chief Ali Larijani, former national police chief Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, and Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rezaei’s withdrawal is not sufficient to boost their chances.
Rafsanjani, a pragmatist who has fluctuated between reformist and conservative camps, tried to reach out to the youth in his campaign. Feeling that conservatives have undermined him, Rafsanjani has reverted to a moderate agenda again, saying he will reciprocate any US goodwill gestures if elected.
Many young women are backing Rafsanjani, afraid that freedoms gained under outgoing reformist President Mohammad Khatami will end with a hard-liner’s victory.
Mostafa Moin, a former culture and higher education minister, enjoys wide support among the youth, but his challenge is to persuade them to vote. Many students have said they are disillusioned and intend to boycott the election, but at least some of them appear to have changed their mind in recent days.
Moin has warned that a boycott could pave the way for a totalitarian state and help hard-liners consolidate their grip on power.
Reformers believe a high turnout will secure a win for Moin, while a turnout of 50 percent or less will give victory to Rafsanjani or a hard-line candidate.
In a statement issued at the White House, Bush said: “Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained it through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy. The June 17 presidential elections are sadly consistent with this oppressive record.”
The statement amounted to a pre-emptive US challenge to the legitimacy of the vote and appeared designed to encourage internal dissent and increase international pressure.
While Bush said “America believes in the right of the Iranian people to make their own decisions and determine their own future,” he added: “To the Iranian people, I say: ‘As you stand for your own liberty, the people of America stand with you.’”
