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Late Heavy Turnout Reported in Iran’s Presidential Election Late Heavy Turnout Reported in Iran’s Presidential Election
(about 2 hours later)
TEHRAN — The Iranian authorities reported heavy turnout in presidential voting on Friday, extending polling hours three times to accommodate what appeared to be a late surge of interest. Anecdotal evidence suggested that Tehran’s mayor and a moderate cleric were garnering the strongest support, outdistancing their four conservative rivals. TEHRAN — Iranian voters turned out in huge numbers on Friday, a late surge of interest in the presidential vote that seemed to swing the tide in the favor of the most moderate candidates in the field. But it remained to be seen whether any single contestant would exceed the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff next week.
In interviews and nonscientific surveys during the campaign, Iranians consistently said they were looking for someone to solve the country’s deepening economic problems, expand individual rights and normalize relations with the rest of the world. With long lines at the polls, voting hours were extended by five hours in parts of Tehran and four hours in the rest of the country. Turnout reached 75 percent, by official count, as disaffected members of the Green Movement, which was crushed in the uprising that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election, dropped a threatened boycott and appeared to coalesce behind a cleric, Hassan Rowhani, and the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf.
With random interviews on Friday seemingly confirming that many had voted that way — which could prove politically sensitive in the heavily controlled vote — state television said representatives of all six candidates had signed a statement calling for no gatherings until official results were announced Saturday morning. The projected outcome seemed to be a repudiation of the coalition of conservative clerics and Revolutionary Guard commanders, the so-called traditionalists, who consolidated power after the 2009 election, which the opposition said was rigged. The traditionalists’ favored candidate, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and aprotégé of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, did not seem to gain much traction with the public, emphasizing vague concepts like “Islamic society” and standing up to Western pressure.
The interviews with voters in Tehran and other cities suggested that the emerging front-runners were Mayor Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf of Tehran and a moderate cleric, Hassan Rowhani, who appeared to attract a late burst of support from Iran’s marginalized reformists who had considered boycotting the election. Early Saturday, officials at the Interior Ministry with access to the preliminary tallies said that Mr. Rowhani and Mr. Ghalibaf were leading in the polls, with Mr. Rowhani the clear winner in some cities. But there were no announcements, and nothing had been confirmed. At 2 a.m. on Saturday, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, warned against publishing any rumors and urged all to wait for the official results.
In what appeared to be a sign of concern about Mr. Rowhani’s popularity, police officers surrounded his Tehran headquarters late Friday night. Mr. Rowhani’s campaign also issued a statement early Saturday expressing appreciation for the high turnout, and while not declaring victory, urging officials to conduct a clean and fair vote count. Nonetheless many veteran Iran political watchers, who had expected a conservative winner in what had been a carefully vetted and controlled campaign, expressed surprise.
Mr. Rowhani has been promoting more freedom and rights for women, and is supported by the moderate former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 78, who was disqualified by the council, with his age given as the official reason. “If the reports are true, it tells me that there was a hidden but huge reservoir of reformist energy in Iran that broke loose in a true political wave,” said Cliff Kupchan, an Iran analyst for the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm in Washington. “It was unpredictable — not even tip of the iceberg visible two days or three days ago — but it seems to have happened.”
The nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, considered the most conservative of the other candidates, did not appear to be attracting much support, which if confirmed would be a disappointment to the hard-liners in the government who had thrown their weight behind him. Mr. Jalili, known for his unyielding stance as a nuclear negotiator, had been considered a front-runner less than three weeks ago. But his campaign never gained much momentum, and in his public statements and appearances he appeared to have little knowledge of Iran’s economic problems, one of the biggest concerns here. Farideh Farhi, an Iranian scholar at the University of Hawaii, while careful not to draw conclusions until the official results were known, said it was clear that reformists and other disaffected voters in Iran had summoned energy to mobilize for a heavy turnout despite their own doubts about the system.
Polling places opened at 8 a.m. and were originally supposed to close at 7 p.m., but election officials repeatedly extended the hours to 10 p.m., and in some districts even later. The state newspaper, Keyhan, considered the mouthpiece of the most conservative elements in the government, said turnout among the electorate was 75 percent. “Everyone’s assumption was they would not be able to create a wave of voters in the society,” Ms. Farhi said. “This outcome was not something planned by Ayatollah Khamenei.”
The warning against any gatherings before results were announced was a reminder of the political minefield presented by the election, which descended into protest and chaos four years ago when pro-reformist candidates accused the authorities of rigging the vote to ensure re-election of the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was not eligible for a third term this year.  In surveys and interviews throughout the campaign, Iranians have consistently listed as their top priorities the economy, individual rights and the normalization of relations with the rest of the world. They also said they saw the vote as a way to send a message about their displeasure with the direction of the country, which has been hobbled by economic mismanagement and tough Western sanctions, stemming from the government’s refusal to stop enriching uranium.
More than 50 million eligible voters were choosing from a field of candidates accepted by the conservative Guardian Council. If no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters would face each other in a runoff on June 21. Mr. Rowhani, a former nuclear negotiator, had been criticized by Mr. Jalili for being too willing to bargain away Iran’s nuclear program, which the West says is a cover for developing nuclear weapons but Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was among the first to cast a ballot, and took the opportunity to curse the United States for what he called its attempt to belittle the election and discourage voters. But Mr. Rowhani seemed to strike a more popular chord by promoting more freedom and rights for women, and gained momentum late in the campaign with the withdrawal of the only other candidate with any reformist tendencies and the endorsement of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 78, the moderate former president who was disqualified by the Guardian Council, which vets all presidential candidates.
“The enemies have made strenuous attempts to prevent people from coming to the polling stations through creating disappointment and pessimism,” the ayatollah said. While not claiming victory, Mr. Rowhani’s campaign released a statement early Saturday morning in Tehran urging the authorities to conduct a clean vote count. “We hope that the respected Guardian Council and the election headquarters of the country will follow the guidelines of the supreme leader regarding protecting the peoples’ rights in counting the votes,” the statement read.
Addressing American skepticism about the outcome as he exhorted Iranians to vote, the ayatollah told reporters: “To hell with you if you do not believe in our election. If the Iranian nation had to wait for you to see what you believe in and what you do not, then the Iranian nation would have lagged behind.” The closest apparent competitor, Mr. Ghalibaf, is also considered something of a moderate, a strong manager who had improved the quality of life in Tehran in his eight years as mayor. The four remaining candidates, all conservatives, seemed to be trailing badly, informal surveys indicated.
Mr. Jalili, known for his unyielding stance as a nuclear negotiator, had been considered a front-runner less than three weeks ago. But his campaign never gained much momentum, and in his public statements and appearances he appeared to have little knowledge of Iran’s economic problems, one of the biggest concerns here.
In the Iranian political system, the president appoints governors, some members of the cabinet and other officials, and has some say in economic policy. But all power ultimately resides with the supreme leader, Mr. Khamenei, particularly in foreign policy and the nuclear program.
Nevertheless, as the outgoing incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made clear with his bombastic appearances at the United Nations and his express desire to see Israel, “wiped off the map,” the president can have a profound effect in setting the tone in the country. Analysts said they expected that the election of either Mr. Rowhani or Mr. Ghalibaf might lead to a softening of Tehran’s confrontational tone, if not its actual stance in negotiations.
As the counting dragged on through the night, officials issued an edict to all the candidates to avoid any gatherings until the official result was announced. The order was a reminder of the political minefield presented by the election, which descended into protest and chaos four years ago when pro-reformist candidates accused the authorities of rigging the vote to ensure re-election of the Mr. Ahmadinejad. He was not eligible for a third term.
Wary of stirring those same passions, the authorities had banned street rallies in this year’s campaign and limited the candidates to smaller meetings in enclosed spaces, like theaters and gymnasiums. After casting his ballot Mr. Khamenei went out of his way to reassure Iranians that the vote would be free and fair.
“I have advice for the people in charge of ballot boxes and counting the votes,” he said. “They need to know that they are the trustee of the people and their vote needs to be preserved and this is the people’s right.”
The top election official in Tehran Province, which includes the capital and is the country’s largest urban area, said he believed at least 70 percent of voters had cast ballots by day’s end. “The political epic that the leader expected took place,” the official, Safar Ali Baratloo, head of the Election Headquarters of Tehran, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students’ News Agency.The top election official in Tehran Province, which includes the capital and is the country’s largest urban area, said he believed at least 70 percent of voters had cast ballots by day’s end. “The political epic that the leader expected took place,” the official, Safar Ali Baratloo, head of the Election Headquarters of Tehran, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students’ News Agency.
Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, spokesman of the Guardian Council, expressed a similar view. “According to the reports that we received, the political epic that the leader expected took place, even before extending the voting time.”
Mr. Rowhani was drawing a number of votes in Geysha, a middle-class Tehran neighborhood. “He will change this country,” said Golnaz, 20, who refused to give her family name for security reasons. “We need change.”Mr. Rowhani was drawing a number of votes in Geysha, a middle-class Tehran neighborhood. “He will change this country,” said Golnaz, 20, who refused to give her family name for security reasons. “We need change.”
In 2009, Iranians in the cities voted in large numbers for two reformers, the former prime minister Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi. After they lost to Mr. Ahmadinejad, street protests lasted for months and propelled both candidates into opposition roles. They have been under house arrest for two years. But there were some doubts about just how much things would change even with a more moderate president. Addressing American skepticism about the outcome as he exhorted Iranians to vote, Mr. Khamenei told reporters: “To hell with you if you do not believe in our election. If the Iranian nation had to wait for you to see what you believe in and what you do not, then the Iranian nation would have lagged behind.”
In several polling places across Tehran, a city of 12 million people, many voters said they cast their ballots for Mayor Ghalibaf, who has used Iran’s record oil income of the past decade to improve the capital’s infrastructure.
“He is a war veteran, a good manager and a religious person,” said Noushin Sobhani, 31, a gynecologist. She and her parents voted at Imam Sadegh University, where most of Iran’s bureaucrats are trained. “We hate America,” her father said, smiling.
In the poorer south Tehran neighborhood of Javadieh, there were no lines in front of a voting station in a Shiite religious center. “People here are angry over high prices,” said a supermarket owner, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his security.
There were long lines in front of the bakery across the street and at a nearby A.T.M. On Thursday, more than 60 million Iranians received their monthly direct cash subsidies. An older man and his grandson came to vote, but they had picked opposing candidates.
“I vote for Jalili,” the older man said. “And I for Rowhani,” said the grandson, Reza, 29. The younger man said Iran needed change, while his grandfather preferred the nation’s confrontational foreign policy.
“Like the rest of the country, we have different opinions,” Reza said.

Rick Gladstone and Robert Mackey contributed reporting from New York.

Rick Gladstone and Robert Mackey contributed reporting from New York.