Iran's Bitter Presidential Campaign Ends
By VOA News
11 June 2009
The Iranian capital, Tehran, was quiet Thursday after weeks of frenzied campaigning ended ahead of Friday's presidential election.
No rallies or speeches by the four presidential candidates are permitted in the 24 hours before polls open Friday morning (0800 local time/0330 UTC), so the contenders held last-minute rallies before the deadline late Wednesday.
Iran's state broadcaster granted the conservative incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a final campaign television appearance Wednesday.
Mr. Ahmadinejad used it to denounce his opponents, saying "they know they have lost" and accuse them of trying to create tension. He asked his supporters to keep calm. State television did not broadcast any special campaign messages from the three challengers.
The president's main reformist rival, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, made a campaign visit Wednesday to Lorestan province. Iran's Mehr news agency quoted him as telling supporters that a nation as rich in resources as Iran should not have to live in poverty.
Thousands of supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad and Mr. Mousavi, gathered in a Tehran's Vali Asr square late Wednesday to cheer for their candidates. No violence was reported.
Iranians from both camps had joined a series of mass rallies on Tehran's streets in the past week, creating a festive atmosphere not seen in the city in recent elections.
The political chief of Iran's conservative Revolutionary Guards accused Mr. Mousavi's supporters Wednesday of trying to inspire a "velvet revolution" - a reference to the non-violent ouster of Czechoslovakia's Communist government in 1989.
Yadollah Javani warned that any attempt at a revolution would be "nipped in the bud," as he put it.
At a rally in Tehran earlier Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad said his opponents were using smear tactics reminiscent of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi and conservative former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei are also contesting Friday's election.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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