Iranians vote in droves, Mousavi ally claims lead

Iran votes in tight election
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By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranians streamed to polling stations on Friday in a hotly contested election and a senior ally of Mirhossein Mousavi said the moderate candidate was on track to defeat hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
An Ahmadinejad adviser dismissed the claim as "psychological war" and said the outcome was impossible to predict.
They were speaking a few hours before voting was officially due to end at 6 p.m. (9:30 a.m. EDT), even though state media said it was likely to be extended due to an unprecedented turnout.
A victory for Mousavi might help ease tensions with the West, which is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and improve chances of engagement with U.S. President Barak Obama who has talked about a new start in ties with Tehran.
Sadegh Kharazi, an ally of the former prime minister, told Reuters that surveys made by reformers showed Mousavi was getting enough votes to win outright in the first round.
"I can say that based on our surveys ... Mousavi is getting 58-60 pct of the vote and we are the winner," he said.
Ahmadinejad adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr said in response: "How can they predict? This is a psychological war they launched to influence voting."
Long queues formed at voting centers and the Interior Ministry said it expected a turnout of more than 70 percent, approaching the record of nearly 80 percent when reformist Mohammad Khatami swept the 1997 presidential election.
Some people said they had waited for more than two hours to cast ballots, both in northern, affluent areas of Tehran where Mousavi draws support and in southern, poorer neighborhoods seen as Ahmadinejad strongholds.
High turnout could indicate voting by many pro-reformers who stayed away when Ahmadinejad won four years ago on a pledge to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, although political analysts have said they expect a close race.
The vote has generated interest around the world with policymakers looking for signs of a change of approach by Tehran, whose ties with the West worsened under Ahmadinejad.
For Iranians it is a chance to pass judgment on his management of the Islamic Republic's oil exporting economy.
Although Ahmadinejad, 52, says his government has revived economic growth and curbed price rises, inflation and high unemployment were the main campaign issues. Official inflation is around 15 percent.
"MIRACLE"
Social issues, such as strict dress codes for women, as well as Iran's ties with the outside world, also featured in the campaign but the outcome of the vote will not bring a major shift in Iran's foreign policy, which is determined by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Continued...
Source: Reuters