The field
Iran’s election overseers allowed eight candidates on the ballot to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again in this election because of term limits. Six candidates remained on the final ballot. Most are solid loyalists to the ruling Islamic theocracy, headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Among the main questions: Will pro-reform voters rally behind one of the relative moderate candidates, former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani, or boycott in protest of the relentless crackdowns in recent years?
Who really rules
The Iranian president does not have a direct say in major policies such as the country’s nuclear programme or relations with the West. Those decisions are in the hands of the ruling clerics and its defenders, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard. The presidency, however, can help sway views. The president also directs the economy, an increasingly important role as international sanctions bite deeper over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Purple power
Rouhani has surged in recent days as reformists, liberals and others helped his campaign gain momentum. Rowhani is backed by prominent reform-minded figures including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was denied a spot on the ballot by Iran’s election overseers. Rowhani’s campaign adopted purple as its signature colour.
Tight security
Iran’s security forces are on high alert. In 2009, massive protests rocked the country after Ahmadinejad’s rivals claimed the outcome was rigged in his favour. There have been no indications of widespread demonstrations this time. Authorities, however, are clamping down on everything from pro-reform gatherings to social media.
Opposition under wraps
The leaders of the 2009 protests, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, have been under house arrest since early 2011. Both ran against Ahmadinejad and alleged vote fraud. Mousavi is a former prime minister. Karroubi served as speaker of Iran’s parliament.
What the law says
Under Iranian law, the first-round winner must clear a threshold of 50 per cent plus one vote to avoid a run-off against the second-placed candidate. The second round would be staged on June 21.
More than 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote.
Inflation is raging at more than 30 per cent, the Iranian currency, the rial, has lost nearly 70 per cent of its value, and unemployment is rising. The economy has been at the centre of voters’ worries.
Rouhani is a representative of Khamenei in the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s top security body, where he also served as its secretary for 16 years until 2005.
In the run-up to Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election, official election results were quickly released. But in this campaign, counting has been time consuming.
Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Saturday his electoral staff would not “compromise accuracy for speed”.
Ahmadinejad’s 2009 re-election sparked massive anti-regime street protests after his opponents and two reformist candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi alleged wide-scale voting fraud.
June 15 Moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani looked to be heading for an outright victory over his conservative rivals in Iran’s presidential election, initial results showed on Saturday.
