DATE=2/15/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN ELECTION OVERNIGHTER (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259197
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=TEHRAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: the official campaign period is due to end
Thursday at 3:30 pm EST. This piece is designed to
hold up until then ///
INTRO: in Iran, campaigning for parliamentary
election is entering its final day Wednesday, after
which voters will observe a day of reflection before
going casting their ballots on Friday. Correspondent
Scott Bobb reports from Tehran that although the
campaign has been short and subdued by most standards,
there have been moments of excitement, particularly
among young voters.
TEXT: The overall tone of the campaign has been
restrained. There has been no television publicity.
Candidates have been restricted to posting small
leaflets and handing out flyers in public places, and
only a few large rallies have been allowed during the
campaign, which has lasted one week.
All candidates are running as independents, but many
are affiliated with one or more of the two dozen
political groups, some of which have become registered
parties. These groups are advertising lists of the
candidates they support to help voters choose from the
large number of candidates whom they don't know.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke
Tuesday at a mosque in Tehran and advised the people
to send a devout person to the parliament to show
support for the Islamic system. A good choice, he
said, will disappoint America, arrogant powers and
Zionist centers. The supreme leader is said to be
among those supporting conservative religious
candidates against reformists who advocate greater
freedom in politics and society.
President Mohammad Khatami, who is said to support the
reformist group, has avoided public endorsement of any
candidates and instead is urging people to vote in
large numbers. But his brother, Mohammad Reza
Khatami, has become the standard bearer of the
reformist group and says the movement toward reform is
inevitable.
A coalition led by former President Hashemi Rafsanjani
has adopted a centrist position, urging voters to
avoid candidates who want too much change too quickly,
as well as those who do not want any change.
His backers held a rally Tuesday for several thousand
young supporters at a basketball arena in north
Tehran. The men sat on one side of the hall and the
women, dressed in chadors, or black cloaks, sat on the
other side.
/// Act of chanting of women and men in
Farsi fade under ///
First the women chanted, "President Khatami is the
hero," Then the men responded, "The hope of the young
generation."
Ayatollah Rafsanjani's daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, who
is running for re-election to the parliament, told the
young people to avoid a monopoly by politicians from
the right or the left.
/// Faezeh Hashemi Act in Farsi fade under
///
Mrs. Hashemi said pluralism is the best course because
freedom and security is what the nation needs.
Conservative newspapers have severely criticized the
exuberance at some of the rallies. One newspaper
noted that men and women fraternized in one reformist
meeting, while another protested that there was
singing and clapping at another.
Iranians who have followed the political evolution of
the country since the heady days of the revolution say
things have changed. The founder of the reformist
Asr-e Azadegan newspaper, Hamidreza Jalei-Pour, says
the economy is one of the main issues in this
election, but political change is the main focus.
/// Jalei-Pour Act ///
Economically yes, there are some plans for
future. But the priority of these subjects is
focused on political reform, not economic
reform.
/// End Act ///
Professor Jalei-Pour says Iranian politics have moved
from a time of uncontested ideology to a time of
political competition and party-building. And he sees
these elections as an important milestone in that
evolution. (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/JP
15-Feb-2000 20:45 PM EDT (16-Feb-2000 0145 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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