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5 things to know about Iran's presidential vote

Saturday - 6/15/2013, 7:10am  ET

A little girl helps her mother with casting a ballot at a polling center during the presidential election in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 14, 2013. Iranian voters appeared to heed calls to cast ballots Friday in a presidential election that has suddenly become a showdown across Iran's political divide: Hard-liners looking to cement their control and re-energized reformists backing the lone moderate left in the race. (AP Photo/ Nabil al-Jurani)

The Associated Press

Iran has started announcing preliminary vote counts from Friday's presidential election. Here are five things you should know:


Iran's election overseers allowed eight candidates on the ballot to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again in this election because of term limits. Six candidates remained on the final ballot. Most are solid loyalists to the ruling Islamic theocracy, headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Among the main questions: Will pro-reform voters rally behind one of the relative moderate candidates, former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani, or boycott in protest of the relentless crackdowns in recent years?


The Iranian president does not have a direct say in major policies such as the country's nuclear program or relations with the West. Those decisions are in the hands of the ruling clerics and its defenders, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard. The presidency, however, can help sway views. The president also directs the economy, an increasingly important role as international sanctions bite deeper over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.


Rowhani has surged in recent days as reformists, liberals and others helped his campaign gain momentum. Rowhani is backed by prominent reform-minded figures including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was denied a spot on the ballot by Iran's election overseers. Rowhani's campaign adopted purple as its signature color.


Iran's security forces are on high alert. In 2009, massive protests rocked the country after Ahmadinejad's rivals claimed the outcome was rigged in his favor. There have been no indications of widespread demonstrations this time. Authorities, however, are clamping down on everything from pro-reform gatherings to social media.


The leaders of the 2009 protests, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, have been under house arrest since early 2011. Both ran against Ahmadinejad and alleged vote fraud. Mousavi is a former prime minister. Karroubi served as speaker of Iran's parliament.
