Ahmadinejad Faces Struggle for New Term in Election (Update7)
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By Ladane Nasseri and Henry Meyer
June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Iranians turned out in large numbers today for an election pitting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against challengers who say he’s hurt the economy and fueled tension with the West.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. local time after being extended by four hours. Election commission head Kamran Daneshjou called the turnout “unprecedented,” the Interior Ministry said. First results will come early tomorrow.
Supporters of both Ahmadinejad and rival Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, claimed victory within an hour after the polls closed, CNBC said, citing the Wall Street Journal. Mousavi, at a press conference, claimed a landslide win, Agence France-Presse said.
Mousavi, whose supporters have been handing out mock economic charts drawn in a childish scrawl to ridicule the government’s performance, is seen by analysts as posing the greatest threat to the president. Ahmadinejad, seeking a second term, has accused the Mousavi campaign of “psychological warfare.”
“The presidential election will be close, and the momentum has shifted toward Mousavi,” said Cliff Kupchan, a senior analyst at the New York-based Eurasia Group. “A Mousavi victory would make a deal on the nuclear issue over the next 12 months more likely.”
A candidate needs to win more than 50 percent of the vote to clinch a first-round victory. If no one does, the contest will go to a runoff between the top two finishers June 19.
Mousavi and another candidate who favors easing tensions with the U.S. and allowing more social and political freedoms, 71-year-old former parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, have hinted that in any second round, their supporters will unite behind the one who gets more votes.
Young People, Women
“A high turnout will benefit Mousavi because it means that large numbers of young people and women have turned out to vote,” said Anoush Ehteshami, an Iran expert from Durham University in the U.K. “If it is as high as it appears, he could even win on the first round.”
Iran has 46.2 million eligible voters from a population of about 70 million. In the last election in 2005, many young people didn’t vote because they were disillusioned after eight years under former President Mohammad Khatami. His efforts to ease political and social restrictions and reach out to the West were blocked by institutions overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all affairs of state.
Reversing Downward Trend
Ahmadinejad won on a turnout of 60 percent four years ago, compared with 67 percent in 2001 and 80 percent in 1997.
The number of ballots cast nationwide amounted to 24 million by 6 p.m. local time, the state-run Press TV news channel reported. The Tehran metropolis and its surrounding areas had a 70 percent voter turnout at that point, it said.
Ahmadinejad “is really going to struggle to win in the first round,” said Ali M. Pedram, an Iran expert at Durham University. “We could see the biggest turnout ever in Iran’s history.”
President Barack Obama said he hopes the election will advance U.S. efforts to engage with the country.
“Whoever ends up winning the election in Iran, the fact that there’s been a robust debate hopefully will help advance our ability to engage them in new ways,” Obama said in response to a reporter’s question at the White House today. “We think there’s a possibility of change.”
Mousavi and other candidates have accused Ahmadinejad of wasting record oil revenue on a subsidy system that has boosted inflation, while unemployment has remained high. They say his confrontational stance over Iran’s nuclear program is thwarting a deal with Obama to assuage concern that Iran is seeking atomic weapons.
‘Create Tension’
In an address on state television on June 10 to answer his critics, Ahmadinejad reeled off a list of his achievements, including what he said was Iran’s progress in nuclear and aerospace technology.
The other candidates “are losing the race and they want to create tension,” he said.
“Iran’s oil is not limitless,” said Hassan Sahabi, 67, after voting for the incumbent. Under Ahmadinejad “our country’s nuclear program progressed. His determination will allow Iran to secure clean energy for the future,” said the Tehran high school teacher. The Persian Gulf country holds the second-largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia.
Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority, was shown on state television casting his ballot shortly after the opening of polls.
Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Ladane Nasseri and Henry Meyer
June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Iranians turned out in large numbers today for an election pitting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against challengers who say he’s hurt the economy and fueled tension with the West.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. local time after being extended by four hours. Election commission head Kamran Daneshjou called the turnout “unprecedented,” the Interior Ministry said. First results will come early tomorrow.
Supporters of both Ahmadinejad and rival Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, claimed victory within an hour after the polls closed, CNBC said, citing the Wall Street Journal. Mousavi, at a press conference, claimed a landslide win, Agence France-Presse said.
Mousavi, whose supporters have been handing out mock economic charts drawn in a childish scrawl to ridicule the government’s performance, is seen by analysts as posing the greatest threat to the president. Ahmadinejad, seeking a second term, has accused the Mousavi campaign of “psychological warfare.”
“The presidential election will be close, and the momentum has shifted toward Mousavi,” said Cliff Kupchan, a senior analyst at the New York-based Eurasia Group. “A Mousavi victory would make a deal on the nuclear issue over the next 12 months more likely.”
A candidate needs to win more than 50 percent of the vote to clinch a first-round victory. If no one does, the contest will go to a runoff between the top two finishers June 19.
Mousavi and another candidate who favors easing tensions with the U.S. and allowing more social and political freedoms, 71-year-old former parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, have hinted that in any second round, their supporters will unite behind the one who gets more votes.
Young People, Women
“A high turnout will benefit Mousavi because it means that large numbers of young people and women have turned out to vote,” said Anoush Ehteshami, an Iran expert from Durham University in the U.K. “If it is as high as it appears, he could even win on the first round.”
Iran has 46.2 million eligible voters from a population of about 70 million. In the last election in 2005, many young people didn’t vote because they were disillusioned after eight years under former President Mohammad Khatami. His efforts to ease political and social restrictions and reach out to the West were blocked by institutions overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all affairs of state.
Reversing Downward Trend
Ahmadinejad won on a turnout of 60 percent four years ago, compared with 67 percent in 2001 and 80 percent in 1997.
The number of ballots cast nationwide amounted to 24 million by 6 p.m. local time, the state-run Press TV news channel reported. The Tehran metropolis and its surrounding areas had a 70 percent voter turnout at that point, it said.
Ahmadinejad “is really going to struggle to win in the first round,” said Ali M. Pedram, an Iran expert at Durham University. “We could see the biggest turnout ever in Iran’s history.”
President Barack Obama said he hopes the election will advance U.S. efforts to engage with the country.
“Whoever ends up winning the election in Iran, the fact that there’s been a robust debate hopefully will help advance our ability to engage them in new ways,” Obama said in response to a reporter’s question at the White House today. “We think there’s a possibility of change.”
Mousavi and other candidates have accused Ahmadinejad of wasting record oil revenue on a subsidy system that has boosted inflation, while unemployment has remained high. They say his confrontational stance over Iran’s nuclear program is thwarting a deal with Obama to assuage concern that Iran is seeking atomic weapons.
‘Create Tension’
In an address on state television on June 10 to answer his critics, Ahmadinejad reeled off a list of his achievements, including what he said was Iran’s progress in nuclear and aerospace technology.
The other candidates “are losing the race and they want to create tension,” he said.
“Iran’s oil is not limitless,” said Hassan Sahabi, 67, after voting for the incumbent. Under Ahmadinejad “our country’s nuclear program progressed. His determination will allow Iran to secure clean energy for the future,” said the Tehran high school teacher. The Persian Gulf country holds the second-largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia.
Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority, was shown on state television casting his ballot shortly after the opening of polls.
