Early results from Iran’s presidential election have moderate candidate Hassan Rowhani in the lead with about 50 percent of the vote.  Rowhani has the support of reformists in Iran, but analysts are not clear if his election will lead to real change in Iran’s uncompromising government. 

Reformists banned from running in Iran’s presidential election embraced Rowhani as their candidate, and after early vote counts, it appears the Iranian people have too.

“To be honest, I’m taking part in the elections just for one specific reason. I want to vote for Mr. Rowhani,” said Tehran voter Mahdieh who waited in a long line to cast her ballot.

Iranian media estimate that nearly 40 million Iranians voted in Friday’s election.  Officials extended voting by several hours to accommodate the large turnout.

Rowhani is pitted against several hardline candidates in the race to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a man internationally known for his hostility to the U.S. and Israel.

Barbara Slavin of the Atlantic Council says this change could have an important impact on Iranian foreign policy.

“The entire world is looking for someone who can come to the United Nations and give a speech that doesn’t force half the audience to get up and walk out,” said Slavin. 

The country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, placed strict restrictions on candidates and maintains the power to make Iran’s major policy decisions.

Some analysts say that no matter which candidate ends up winning, this presidential election is undeniably influenced by the government’s brutal clamp-down during the last presidential election. And the Heritage Foundation’s James Phillips says that clamp-down has yet to let up.

“The regime has kind of weeded out what it considers to be the focal points for opposition and has intimidated them, driven them out of the country, put them in jail and, in some cases, tortured them,” said Phillips. “And this has sent a really chilling message to the Iranian people.” 

It is not clear when the government will announce the final results.  If no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote, the government will schedule a runoff election next week between the top two contenders. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: War and Conflict