Iran's Ahmadinejad, Mousavi Hold Final Rallies Ahead of Election
By VOA News
10 June 2009
Tensions are high among Iran's presidential candidates on the last day of campaigning ahead of Friday's elections.
Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief election rival Mir Hossein Mousavi have repeatedly accused each other of lying to the public in a bitterly contested campaign that has highlighted Iran's deep political divisions.
Mr. Ahmadinejad used a rally in Tehran Wednesday to accuse his rivals of adopting smear tactics used by Nazi Germany's leader Adolf Hitler. He said his challengers are lying by describing the economy as weak and compared their methods to those of Hitler.
Leading reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has criticized Mr. Ahmadinejad for describing the Nazi German Holocaust as a myth, saying such remarks isolate Iran.
Also Wednesday, a top official of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Yadollah Javani, accused Mr. Ahmadinejad's opponents of waging a "velvet revolution" - a term used to describe the non-violent ouster of the Communist government in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
Mr. Mousavi made a campaign visit Wednesday to Iran's Lorestan province. Iran's Mehr news agency quotes him as telling supporters that a resource-rich nation such as theirs should not have to live in poverty.
Mr. Ahmadinejad's three challengers also have accused him of lying to the Iranian people by saying the economy is improving. They blame his government for Iran's high inflation and unemployment.
Campaigning for Iran's election is due to end Thursday morning, 24 hours before polls open.
Mr. Ahmadinejad's aides say he will respond to his rivals' allegations in a special message on state television. Iran's state broadcaster says it has not yet made a decision on giving the conservative incumbent air time.
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says the state broadcaster denied his request to make a televised response this week to what he calls untruthful remarks by the current president.
Mr. Ahmadinejad accused the Rafsanjani family of corruption last week in a televised debate with Mr. Mousavi, a former prime minister.
Mr. Rafsanjani says the broadcaster postponed consideration of his request until after Friday's election, something he calls unacceptable.
The former president appealed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a letter Tuesday not to remain silent over Mr. Ahmadinejad's remarks. Mr. Rafsanjani warned that the repetition of lies and false allegations in the campaign may trigger social unrest.
The other two presidential candidates are reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi and conservative former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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