Turnout seen as crucial to president’s re-election
TEHRAN — Iran’s presidential election may turn on turnout.
Historically, the more Iranians who cast ballots, the greater the chance a reformist or a moderate like incumbent President Hassan Rouhani will be elected.
However, Rouhani’s bid for another four-year term comes amid apathy and grumbling from an electorate that largely hasn’t seen the benefits of his signature nuclear deal with world powers. As his opponents promise populist cash handouts to the poor, Rouhani needs all the voters he can to cast ballots on May 19. But even some of his supporters say they may stay home.
“I will not vote,” said Hossein Ghasemi, a 35year-old taxi driver who voted for Rouhani in 2013. “None of them care about our demands and difficulties linked to daily increasing prices.”
Rouhani faces five opponents in the election, but some may drop out in the coming days to boost the chances of the most-prominent candidates. Eshaq Jahangiri, one of Rouhani’s vice presidents, is expected to leave the race to help his boss.
A reformist dropping out ahead of the 2013 election helped Rouhani edge out a nearly 51 percent majority to win. That election saw turnout of 73 percent, a high figure Rouhani will need to duplicate among Iran’s 56.4 million eligible voters this time around. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the top two candidates will compete in a second round of voting on May 26.
There are already warning signs on the horizon for Rouhani. A report Monday by the IRNA news agency said a survey of over 6,000 eligible voters found more than a third saying they would not be voting.
“The main rival of Rouhani is ‘lack of participation’ by people,” said Saeed Leilaz, a Tehranbased political analyst.
That lack of enthusiasm stems from the average Iranian’s major concern: The economy. While the nuclear deal allowed Iran to resume crucial oil exports to Europe and sign billion-dollar airplane deals, chronic unemployment and inflation remain major concerns. Iran’s universities continue to graduate its youth without jobs available.
Rouhani faces his most-serious challenge from hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, a favorite of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi already has the support of two major clerical bodies that declined to endorse anyone in the last presidential election.