Iranian women voting Friday at a mosque transformed into a polling station in Tehran.TEHRAN — Iranians went to the polls Friday to elect a new president after an unusually intense campaign which saw the hard-line incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, seemingly thrown onto the defensive. Opposition leaders said they expected a huge turnout, with many reformists who sat out the last vote in 2005 saying they will take part this time.
Mr. Ahmadinejad’s main opponent is Mir Hussein Moussavi, a moderate who has mobilized huge crowds of his backers in Tehran and other large cities.
The official IRNA news agency reported long lines outside polling stations before they opened at 8 a.m. local time. State-run television showed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, casting his vote under the gaze of local and foreign media.
Mr. Ahmadinejad voted at a Tehran mosque as Mr. Moussavi showed up in the poor southern neighborhood of Shahreh-Ray to cast his ballot.
Less than two months ago, it was widely assumed here and in the West that Mr. Ahmadinejad would coast to another victory. Many of the reformists who sat out the vote in 2005 seemed dejected and unlikely to raise a strong challenge.
The official IRNA news agency reported long lines outside polling stations before they opened at 8 a.m. local time. State-run television showed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, casting his vote under the gaze of local and foreign media.
Mr. Ahmadinejad voted at a Tehran mosque as Mr. Moussavi showed up in the poor southern neighborhood of Shahreh-Ray to cast his ballot.
Less than two months ago, it was widely assumed here and in the West that Mr. Ahmadinejad would coast to another victory. Many of the reformists who sat out the vote in 2005 seemed dejected and unlikely to raise a strong challenge.
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