Photo by Ben Curtis
Borzou Daraghi of the LA Times reports that long lines are forming outside polling stations. From the article: “Certain energies have been released and certain new patterns have emerged,” said Ali Akbar Mahdi, a professor emeritus of social science at Ohio Wesleyan University and the author of five books on Iran and the Middle East. “It’ll be interesting to see how it will evolve after the election, or how it will be suppressed.”
Here’s a bit more:
Long lines began forming outside polling stations well before they opened, suggesting a large turnout.
Washington and capitals around the world are tensely anticipating the outcome of the vote, which pits incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi and two other challengers. The Islamic Republic and the West are at odds over Tehran’s nuclear program and support for militant groups that oppose Israel. Pro-U.S. Arab leaders have decried Iran’s rising ambitions.
The next president, analysts say, will play a key role in formulating Iran’s response to the Obama administration’s offer of comprehensive talks after a 30-year cold war between Tehran and Washington, which is rooting for Ahmadinejad to lose.
“There’s a hope that if Ahmadinejad is not reelected this might facilitate engagement with Iran, specifically on the nuclear issue,” said Alireza Nader, an analyst at Rand Corp. “Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric and style has an effect on U.S.-Iran engagement. Mousavi is seen as an easier candidate to deal with by certain segments of the [U.S.] foreign policy establishment.”
For voters in this country of 70 million, the election has emerged as a referendum on Ahmadinejad, pitting those who support his populist economic policies and fiery international posture against those angered by his conservative social policies and his perceived damaging of Iran’s relations with the West.
Rogine Behtoub, 24, a teacher, said she came to the polling station at the Hosseiniyeh Ershad mosque in north Tehran to vote against Ahmadinejad.
“I’m not coming here to vote for anyone. I’m voting against someone. I want a change in the situation. I want better relations with the outside world,” Behtoub said.
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