Iranians set to vote on Ahmadinejad re-election

[June 11, 2009]  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Tehran was quiet after a week of frenzied campaign activity as Iranians prepared to head to the polls Friday in a crucial presidential election that will be closely watched across the Middle East and Washington.

Campaigning officially ended early Thursday, and Tehran residents removed campaign posters and banners from buildings and cars. No rallies or speeches by candidates were permitted.

In the final hours of the fierce election campaign, Mir Hossein Mousavi -- the top challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- got a sharp warning that authorities would crush any attempt at a popular "revolution" inspired by the huge rallies and street parties calling for more freedoms.

The threat by an official of the powerful Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday reflected the increasingly tense atmosphere surrounding the up-for-grabs election.

It also marked a sharp escalation by the ruling clerics against Mousavi's youth-driven campaign and its hopes of an underdog victory.

The Revolutionary Guard is one of the pillars of the Islamic establishment and controls large military forces as well as a nationwide network of militia volunteers.

The message from the Guards' political chief, Yadollah Javani, appeared aimed at rattling Mousavi's backers just before the polls open Friday and to warn that it would not tolerate the formation of a post-election political force under the banner of Mousavi's "green movement" -- the signature color of his campaign.

In a statement on the Guards' Web site, Javani drew parallels between Mousavi's campaign and the "velvet revolution" that led to the 1989 ouster of the communist government in then-Czechoslovakia, saying "some extremist (reformist) groups, have designed a colorful revolution ... using a specific color for the first time in an election."

Javani called it a "sign of kicking off a velvet revolution project in the presidential elections," and vowed any "attempt for velvet revolution will be nipped in the bud." It also accused the reformists of planning to claim vote rigging and provoke street violence if Mousavi loses.

The all-night street rallies and the joyful campaign of Mousavi's supporters have rekindled the passions and hopes of reformists after Ahmadinejad's victory four years ago. Their calls are similar to the days of reformist President Mohammad Khatami -- more social freedoms, media openness and outreach to the West.

But now there are some potentially groundbreaking stakes, including how to respond to President Barack Obama's offer for dialogue with Iran after a nearly 30-year diplomatic chill.

The election outcome will have little direct impact on Iran's key policies -- including its nuclear program or possible talks with Washington -- which are directly dictated by the ruling Islamic clerics. Still, the president has influence over some domestic affairs, such as the economy, and serves as Iran's highest-ranking envoy on the international stage.

Ahmadinejad is believed to have wide support in the Revolutionary Guard and among Iran's ruling clerics, though neither have given public endorsements in a presidential race that has seen the sudden and unexpected rise of Mousavi, who served as prime minister in the 1980s.

Mousavi has accused Ahmadinejad of attempting to whitewash the scope of Iran's problems, which include double-digit inflation and chronic unemployment and criticized the hard-line president for blackening Iran's international reputation by questioning the Holocaust and calling for Israel's destruction.

Two other candidates are in the race: former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei and former parliament speaker Mahdi Karroubi. In the increasingly tight race, their level of support could play a swing role -- with Rezaei expected to draw conservative voters and Karroubi pulling in moderates.

[Associated Press; By ANNA JOHNSON]

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