 |
|
Rafsanjani
presents himself as liberal. (Reuters)
|
TEHRAN,
June 23, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Iran's first
ever presidential run-off seemed too tight to judge Thursday, June 23,
after campaigning ended, exactly 24 hours before voters head to polling
stations to decide whether to give former president Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani another shot at presidency or to give Tehran's mayor Mahmood
Ahmadinejad the green light to be the Islamic republic's next head of
state.
On
the one hand, supporters of Rafsanjani, trying to regain the post he
held from 1989 to 1997, say a win for Tehran mayor Ahmadinejad in
Friday's run-off would roll back outgoing President Mohammad Khatami's
modest reforms.
On
the other, Ahmadinejad's camp plays on the frustration expressed by the
vast sector of Iran's poor class and their needs.
"Ahmadinejad,
he has been poor himself," AFP quoted as saying one such supporter,
Mohammad Beigi -- who has a thankless job monitoring a taxi rank in
smog-ridden downtown Tehran.
"The
ones who say he was a terrorist should know that murders were under
Rafsanjani's rule," he says of Rafsanjani.
Despite
being a Shiite scholar and a key founder of the Islamic state,
Rafsanjani, 70, now casts himself as a liberal.
He
has vowed to increase social and political freedoms, liberalize the
economy and seek better ties with the West, according to Reuters.
Speaking
on state television Wednesday night, he described Iran's nuclear
standoff with the West as the most urgent foreign policy issue and said
Tehran needed to "convince them (the West) that our program is for
peaceful purposes."
Class
Divide
 |
|
Ahmadinejad
presents himself as "the poor president". (Reuters)
|
Rafsanjani's
support base lies mostly among the upper and middle classes and senior
bureaucrats terrified of the sweeping changes Ahmadinejad may bring to
OPEC's No. 2 oil producer, Reuters added.
Ahmadinejad's
supporters, in contrast, come mostly from the working class, rural poor
and unemployed who admire his humility and pledges to redistribute the
country's vast oil income.
"Ahmadinejad
appeals to working class Iranians who feel that the oil wealth has left
them behind," Karim Sadjadpour, Tehran-based analyst for the
International Crisis Group, told Reuters.
"They're
counting on him to look out for them."
Opinion
polls show the two men neck-and-neck. Analysts say the vote is too close
to call.
The
minimum voting age is 15 and 47 million people are eligible to vote.
Results are expected Saturday.
Counter-attack
Speaking
also Wednesday night, Ahmadinejad dismissed rumors that he would
introduce strict gender segregation in public and force women to wear
the head-to-toe chador.
"The
country's true problems are unemployment and housing, not what to
wear," he told state television.
He
said he was in favor of Iran joining the World Trade Organization, but
stressed that local industry must be protected. "We need time and
we need to defend our industry."
Emphasizing
his strong religious beliefs he began the broadcast with a reading from
the Noble Qur'an.
But
he was also at pains to show his liberal side, joking that his telephone
bills were high because his children were constantly on the Internet,
which is viewed by some religious hardliners as a source of moral
corruption.
The
reformist movement, and even Rafsanjani himself, have all scathingly
attributed Ahmadinejad's shock second place in last week's first round
of the election to rigging and voter manipulation by powerful
"hardliners", AFP said.
Some
observers gave Rafsanjani an edge over his opponent, arguing votes that
went to other reformists Mehdi Karoubi, who came third in the first
round, and Mostafa Moin, who came fifth, would logically fall on the
former president's lap.
But
much will depend on whether Ahmadinejad has managed to rally more
support, and if Rafsanjani's camp can inspire fear.
The
result is unpredictable, given that both are also facing an increasingly
skeptical and very unpredictable electorate, according to AFP.
During
the first round held Friday, June
17, Rafsanjani led with 21.1 percent of the vote, and Ahmadinejad's
19.25 percent gave him second place.
