Iran run-off: Vote against extremism, urges Rafsanjani

His surprise rival Ahmadinejad (49), who will be Iran’s first non-cleric president in 24 years if he wins Friday’s run-off, campaigned along more modest lines, focusing on the need to tackle poverty and revive the ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Reformist critics, some of whom have accused the state’s military organisations of nefariously boosting Ahmadinejad’s vote, say he represents the tip of an ultra-conservative plot bent on imposing a totalitarian system in Iran.

In response, the hardline Guardian Council, which has the final word on election results, said on Monday it would randomly recount votes from 100 ballot boxes in Tehran and three other major cities.

Third-placed reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi, who asked for the recount, said some Ahmadinejad votes were bought.

Two liberal newspapers, which printed his accusations in a daringly critical letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were closed by the judiciary late on Sunday.

Many political analysts, while stunned by Ahmadinejad’s strong showing in Friday’s vote, said reformists had provided no concrete evidence of vote rigging and had underestimated the mayor’s strong support among Iran’s large mass of pious poor.