Ahmadinejad faces tough test in backwater region

Dast-e-Arzhan: Container trucks race past the yellow-brick houses of Dast-e-Arzhan, a small town in Iran's central Fars province, the heartland of ancient Iranian culture.

Little more than a strip of houses along the highway, the town is like many in Iran's provinces - frozen in time.

Unemployed young men drive around aimlessly on sputtering mopeds, and litter lines the sides of the road. A green sign next to the highway points visitors toward the local mosque.

In the 2005 election, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received a large part of his support from Fars and the other central provinces.

His victory was achieved through a word-of-mouth campaign led by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and voluntary paramilitary units known as baseej, who promoted the then-unknown candidate to farmers and labourers in towns such as Dast-e-Arzhan.

In the years since, Ahmadinejad has focused policies based on spreading the wealth on these backwater regions, which he has visited regularly during his term.

But despite the widely held view that his support remains strong in rural areas, many of Dast-e-Arzhan's 3,000 residents say they plan to vote for his main opponent, Mir Hussain Mousawi, in elections on Friday.

They say that Ahmadinejad has not lived up to his promises and that they are worse off since he came to power.

At a collection of restaurants and stands that serves as a gathering point here, posters of Mousawi hang everywhere.

The former prime minister and architect has promised more freedom and better management of Iran's ailing economy, but he has not revealed a clear plan for achieving his goals.

"My boss brought 1,500 Mousawi posters, and in four days we handed them all out," said Samad Raeesi, a restaurant manager. "People came to us to ask for them. I am sure that Mousawi will win big here."

Ahmadinejad's government has increased wages and pensions, and his government has put more than 22 million Iranians in a government-sponsored health-care system.

He has taken his entire cabinet on 60 trips, visiting each of Iran's provinces, addressing problems, initiating building of schools and sports complexes and sometimes even handing out cash. But inflation and unemployment have gone up, cancelling out many of the improvements.

Raeesi said that he voted for Ahmadinejad, and that was a mistake. In the restaurant's courtyard, only a few customers sat on platforms, decorated with pillows and red Persian carpets, and ate kebabs.

"People have less money to spend. Mousawi will cure the economy, because he has experience from leading the country during the war with Iraq," Raeesi said.

If Ahmadinejad wins the elections, the future looks bleak, Raeesi said. "His decisions are unprofessional. Everything, our freedoms, the economy, will become much, much worse," he said.

Store owner Hadi Bahadri, 20, surrounded by posters of Iranian stars, including rapper Sasi Mankan, said, "Mousawi will make our lives more free.

"But don't expect anything in Iran to really change," he said, turning down the volume of his CD player. "This time, maybe they vote for Mousawi. The next time, they will elect Ahmadinejad again. We Iranians are always critical of those in charge. We want them to do everything for us."

Down the road, several men gathered at a gas station for a midday cup of tea. "Ahmadinejad has only made promises," complained Ali Ghorbani, a labourer. Sitting on plastic chairs or kneeling on the ground, he and his friends discussed the elections.

"I did not get a job, so I will not vote for him," Ghorbani said of Ahmadinejad.

But his brother Azad disagreed. "Under his government, they widened the highway. We have many more customers now," he said, taking a break from his job pumping gas.

A year ago, Ahmadinejad drove past Dast-e-Arzhan on one of his provincial trips. Residents lined the road awaiting their president.

Hussain Badri said he brought a lamb to sacrifice in celebration of Ahmadinejad's visit. But the presidential convoy just rolled past him without stopping.

"That was disappointing. I expected him to greet us," Badri said, as his friends laughed at his story. Still, Badri said he would cast his ballot for Ahmadinejad.

"Even though he only drove past, he's the only president we have ever seen here," he said. "The rest of them just stayed in Tehran and never cared about us."