A dark horse emerges

Iran8217;s biggest surprise in last week8217;s Presidential contest was the emergence of little-known Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the second-highest vote winner, catapulting him into Friday8217;s run-off. That has led to widespread charges of vote rigging and a systematic, organised conspiracy to alter the outcome.

Many people fear Ahmadinejad because his social and economic ideas are a throwback to the early days of the Revolution. Others simply cannot believe that a man who has not been part of the political elite might leapfrog over elder statesmen of the country to take power. In one piece of campaign literature, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the other Presidential candidate, simply lists his resume side by side with Ahmadinejad8217;s, as though nothing more need be said.

Critics, though, have not so far presented any real proof of vote rigging, and instead have talked about unfair and inappropriate influence peddling.

8216;8216;Military commanders gave talks and encouraged people to vote a certain way,8217;8217; said Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of Parliament and Presidential candidate who created a scandal here when he charged vote rigging in the first round.

8216;8216;We have evidence that the Basij hardline milita volunteers and the military were interfering with the vote.8217;8217;

A Western diplomat, analysing the vote for his home office, said it did not appear that a huge, systemic fraud had occurred. On condition of anonymity, the diplomat said the country was too large, and the electorate too diverse, for widespread fraud. 8212;NYT