Iranians go to the polls

The elections, held on Friday, are the first test of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, at the polls since he was elected in June 2005.

Ahmadinejad said on state TV: "I am sure that our people will once more show off their greatness to the people of the world by participating in the election."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, urged Iranians to "prove to the world Iran's honour in another revolutionary challenge".


Iran's reform movement was defeated in municipal elections in 2003, and later in parliamentary and presidential elections, by Ahmadinejad and his conservative allies.

Friday's elections are expected to show to what extent the reformists have regained popularity.

Dr Massoumeh Ebtekar, a former vice-president, who is running for a seat on the city council, told Al Jazeera that although the reformists have been defeated by in the major elections in the last few years, they will not be discouraged.

She said: "The reformists feel it is crucial now. We have to be united."

Voter turnout during the 2003 polls was the lowest recorded election participation in the Islamic republic's history.

Election race

There are about 46.5 million eligible voters in Iran and they will choose from approximately 233,000 candidates for more than 113,000 city and rural council posts.

While the reformists hold no seats on the Tehran city council, the conservatives are split between supporters of Ahmadinejad and his rival Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, now the mayor of Tehran.

In the Assembly of Experts election, the race is seen to be between Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a cleric and former president, and Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, a theologian regarded by many as Ahmadinejad's mentor.

Mohsen Esmaili, a candidate running for the Assembly of Experts, told Al Jazeera: "The Expert Assembly is the symbol of connection between the people and the leadership. It has to provide more communication to narrow the gap between the people and their leader."

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