A supporter of Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi carries a poster bearing a picture of him with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a rally in the capital Tehran, on June 16, 2021, ahead of the Islamic republic's June 18 presidential election. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
DUBAI – Iran's president appealed to voters to set aside their grievances and take part in a presidential election on Friday that record numbers of people are expected to boycott due to economic hardship and frustration with hardline rule.
Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi and former Central Bank governor Abdolnasser Hemmati are the main contenders after the Guardian Council disqualified several prominent candidates from running and others quit.
President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians on Thursday, as campaigning ended, not to let the “shortcomings of an institution or a group” keep them from voting
President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians on Thursday, as campaigning ended, not to let the “shortcomings of an institution or a group” keep them from voting.
"For the time being, let's not think about grievances tomorrow," Rouhani said in televised remarks.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already urged people to turn out in large numbers, saying that would help avert foreign pressures on the Islamic Republic.
Official opinion polls suggest turnout could be as low as 41 percent, significantly lower than in past elections.
ALSO READ: IAEA chief: Nuclear deal must await new Iran government
Under the Iranian Constitution, the supreme leader, elected for life and responsible for choosing six of the 12-member Guardian Council, holds most of the powers of the state.
Polling stations open at 7 am local time and close at 2 am on Saturday. The interior minister told state TV that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, voting will take place outside at 67,000 sites across the country, with social distancing and the donning of face masks.
The election comes as Iran is negotiating in Vienna with world powers to revive a 2015 deal under which it agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions.
US President Joe Biden hopes to revive the agreement, which his predecessor Donald Trump abandoned. Although the agreement was a signature achievement of outgoing president Rouhani, the election is not expected to have a major impact on Iran's negotiating position, which is set by Khamenei.
But a strong mandate for Raisi could strengthen Khamenei's hand at home, and affect the search for an eventual successor to the 82-year-old supreme leader, in power for 32 years.
READ MORE: Iran says it produced 6.5 kg of uranium enriched to 60%
"If the new president is elected by a significant majority of the votes, he will be a powerful president and can carry out great tasks," Khamenei said. "If we have a fall in the election turnout, we will have an increase of pressure from our enemies."