Reform weighs heavy on the mind of Iran's young voters

A supporter of popular reformist Mostafa Moin. Picture / Reuters

Niusha Jamal-e Fard was only 8 when Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was last in power in 1997.

But tomorrow, at the age of 16, she will vote against him as Iran's presidential front-runner seeks a third term of office. "I can remember how much more pressure there was on people then," she said.

Rafsanjani will hope her recollections are not shared in the schools of Tehran and elsewhere. In a country where the youth vote could hold the key to power, gaining the support of teenagers is a priority. In the midst of an international crisis over Iran's nuclear programme and a domestic political struggle that has gridlocked the system, Rafsanjani has portrayed himself as the country's only saviour. "He has arrived", says one slogan.

But with an estimated two-thirds of the population under 30 and a voting age of 15, politics often comes second to work and having fun for much of the electorate.
"I am the only one in my class who intends to vote," said Jamal-e Fard, who favours the reformist candidate Mostafa Moin. "But everybody is excited about the football."

Yesterday, tens of thousands of revellers poured on to the streets of Tehran after the Iranian team qualified for next year's World Cup. In some parts of the city, they waved election posters and festooned cars with stickers proclaiming the names of favoured candidates, but most were more interested in having fun.

"Iranians never miss an opportunity to be happy," Mehdi Rizwan, 30, an architect, said. "We can only do things like this occasionally. But in election time we can do whatever we like because the Government needs our votes."

Candidates have directed their campaigns at the young. The right-wing former police chief Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf features football fans in his posters. One of Rafsanjani's posters features a young man with long hair and goatee beard.

"I'm not voting," said Nader Karimi, 22, who makes car parts. "We thought Khatami would make things better but he wasn't allowed. Anyway, Rafsanjani will win."

In the previous two elections, students returning from university spread new ideas and were critical to the reformist success. But that power seems to be waning as disillusionment sets in.

For Sara Mohseni, 15, trying to reconcile her progressive ideals with a conservative family background is work enough. "It's better to vote," she said. "We have to choose between bad and worse and going back eight years to Rafsanjani is definitely worse."

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