Presidential poll extended twice
Heavy turnout meant voters had four more hours
TEHRAN // Polling in Iran was extended twice yesterday as voters flocked to deliver their verdict on president Hassan Rouhani and his troubled efforts to rebuild ties with the world and kick-start the struggling economy. Mr Rouhani, 68, a moderate cleric who led a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, has framed the vote as a choice between greater civil liberties and “extremism”.
But he faces stiff competition from Ebrahim Raisi, 56, a hardline cleric who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and calls for a much tougher line with the West.
With long queues at polling stations, authorities extended the voting, which was supposed to close at 6pm, to 8pm and then 10pm.
Analysts suggested that a high turnout would improve Mr Rouhani’s chances of securing a second four-year term.
By 8pm, local agencies reported 30 million people – more than half of the 56 million registered voters – had cast their ballot.
But Mr Raisi’s campaign complained about the conduct of the election, saying there had been hundreds of “propaganda actions” by Mr Rouhani’s supporters at voting booths, which are banned under election laws.
Mr Raisi has targeted working- class voters hit by high unemployment and austerity measures, as well as those who worry that the values of Iran’s 1979 revolution are under threat.
“His main focus is deprived people and he wants to fight corruption,” said Mohsen, 32, who supports Mr Raisi.
“Our country is surrounded by enemies. If we don’t strengthen our domestic situation, we will be harmed.”
Mr Rouhani’s central achievement is a deal with six world powers, led by the United States, that eased crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran’s nuclear programme – efforts which Mr Rouhani aid must be protected from hardliners. “One wrong decision by the president can mean war,” he warned this week.
Mr Raisi said he would adhere to the nuclear deal but pointed to Iran’s persistent economic slump as proof that Mr Rouhani’s diplomatic efforts have failed.
“Instead of using the capable hands of our young people to resolve problems, they are putting our economy in the hands of foreigners,” Mr Raisi.
Mr Rouhani gained a boost on Wednesday when Washington agreed to continue waiving nuclear-related sanctions, keeping the deal on track for now. But US president Donald Trump, who has launched a 90-day review of the accord that could result in its abandonment, is visiting Iran’s bitter regional rival Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, voted at his compound minutes after polls opened. “The destiny of the country is in the hands of Iranians,” he said. Despite the global implications of the nuclear deal, it is the economy that has dominated the presidential campaign. Mr Rouhani has brought inflation down from about 40 per cent when he took office in 2013, but prices are still rising by 9 per cent a year.
Oil sales have rebounded since the nuclear deal took effect in January last year, but growth in the rest of the economy has been limited, leaving unemployment at 12.5 per cent overall, and at about 30 per cent for young people.
Still, many appear willing to give Mr Rouhani’s policies time to bear fruit, and they hope he can lift the remaining US sanctions that are stifling trade.
“I’ve almost lost my entire business in recent years. Our small importers can’t afford to bypass sanctions and it’s illegal,” said first-time voter Amir Fathollahzadeh, 51.
“I’m voting for Rouhani to try to save my dignity.” Meanwhile, Mr Raisi has promised to triple cash handouts to the poor, hoping to gain voters who once backed Mr Rouhani’s populist predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iranians are also voting for local councils, with reformists hoping to overturn the conservatives’ narrow majority in the capital.