Huge turnout spurs outcome speculation

Tehran: Iranians went to the polls in large numbers on Friday for a crucial presidential election that has polarised the country and unleashed mass opposition to hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

While there have been no official turnout figures, polling was extended for two hours, with voters at one polling station at a school in a wealthy suburb of north Tehran queueing around the block despite the blazing early afternoon sun, a scene repeated throughout the country.

Ominously, as three weeks of often passionate campaigning drew to a close, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRG) warned that any attempt at a popular "revolution" would be crushed.

In the city of Qom, hundreds of clerics and women dressed in long black robes waited to vote in a long line outside a mosque.

One election official was quoted as predicting up to 80 per cent of the country's 46 million voters could cast ballots. A high turnout would be expected to favour Mir Hussain Mousavi, the former prime minister and moderate "green" candidate.

In the absence of reliable independent opinion polls, experts have predicted that Mousavi will probably beat Ahmadinejad as long as the result is not rigged. "I hope to defeat Ahmadinejad today," said Mahnaz Mottaghi, 23, after casting her ballot at a mosque in central Tehran.

While the month-long campaign has been hard fought, even acrimonious, outside groups have complained that Ahmadinejad has enjoyed far more access to state TV and radio than Mousavi.

Saeed Lalyaz, a respected political commentator, said yesterday he believed Mousavi commanded the support of 55-60 per cent across the country and warned of a possible crackdown on the opposition if Ahmadinejad were re-elected. "I worry about the impact of any announcement that Ahmadinejad wins in the first round," said Lalyaz. "If Ahmadinejad is president for a second time I worry about another Tiananmen Square experience." After casting his vote, the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Iranians to remain calm. "As far as I see and hear, passion and motivation is very high among people," Khamenei told reporters. "If some intend to create tension, this will harm people."

Ahmadinejad commented on the high turnout after voting at a mosque in eastern Tehran. "A strong and revolutionary decision by the people will mean a bright and progressive future for the nation," he told the IRNA news agency.

- Guardian News & Media Ltd

The candidate who takes more than 50% becomes president automatically otherwise a run-off will be held next Friday.

Two other candidates, the reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi and the conservative Mohsen Rezaei, would drop out if that happened.

Results are expected to be announced 'gradually' today, according to an election official