Iran vote extended with turnout heavy

UPDATED:

TEHRAN | Iranians flooded into polling stations to vote for president Friday after the most heated campaign in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic exposed bitter divisions among Iran’s ruling elite.

More than 45,000 polling stations around the country opened Friday morning. State television encouraged people to vote and broadcast video footage of past elections, nationalistic songs and pictures of Iranians fighting against Iraq in the 1980-88 war, the Associated Press reported.

At one mosque in southern Tehran, women wearing traditional long black robes lined up to cast their votes. At another station, men and women, holding their young children in their arms, placed their fingerprints on ballots.

Due to heavy voter turnout, voting was extended by two hours to 8 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EDT, 1530 GMT), AP reported.

A high turnout could spell doom for incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose four-year tenure has been marked by economic mismanagement and confrontation with the West. About 46 million of the country’s 70 million people are eligible to vote.

Some observers are predicting a first-round win by Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister who has benefited from widespread disaffection with Mr. Ahmadinejad. Many fear violence.

There are no reports of serious problems or unrest at the polls, but Iran’s mobile text messaging system has been down since Wednesday, eliminating a communication tool that many young people used to spread election information.

“Unfortunately, some of my representatives were blocked from entering polling stations and SMS (text messaging) is also down, which is against the law,” Mousavi said after voting, according to his campaign Web site, reports the AP. “We should not be fearful about the free flow of information, and I urge officials to observe the law.”

Telecommunication Ministry spokesman Davood Zareian confirmed to The Associated Press that the text message system has been down since late Wednesday. “We are investigating,” he said.

Per tradition, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei placed his ballot in the white ballot box just minutes after the polls opened. Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, urged Iranians to vote early.

“As far as I see and hear, passion and motivation is very high among people,” said Khamenei. “We expect people at packed polling stations to be able to choose the best choice for heading the executive branch for four years.”

He also called on Iranians to remain calm and ignore rumors about the election.

“If some intend to create tension, this will harm people,” Khamenei told reporters at the polling station in Tehran, AP reported. “Do not listen to rumors.”

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