IRAN: Iranians wait to see result of local council elections which could signal whether the country is dissatisfied with President Ahmadinejad

Iranians on Saturday (December 16) were awaiting results from elections to chose local councillors and a powerful clerical body in the first electoral test for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies since he swept to office in 2005. Friday's (December 15) vote for city and rural councils and the Assembly of Experts, in theory the most powerful institution in the Islamic Republic, will show if the president's rivals are regaining popularity even if the results have no direct impact on policy. Forecasting results is hampered by a lack of reliable opinion polls but some early voters for Tehran City Council, the most high profile of Friday's races, stood behind the president. Tehran resident, Faramarz Safaei said, "We expect the candidates who will be elected to keep their promises and work on the problems of the people in the city council and Assembly of Expert. They musn't forget the people." Ahmadinejad's anti-Western and anti-Israel statements have alarmed the West. Any indication his popularity is waning is likely to be taken as a welcome sign among Western countries worried Iran is building nuclear arms. Iran denies this. But Ahmadinejad's vow to share out Iran's oil wealth more fairly still wins him the backing of many of the Islamic Republic's poor, even if many also grumble about rising prices, which economists blame on the president's spending policies.

ITN Source | December 16, 2006

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