BEIRUT AND TEHRAN — Putting their political rivalries aside, hundreds of Iranian television executives and government officials gathered recently to think up strategies to draw as many voters as possible to their country's June 12 presidential election.
"All four major candidates are in line with the system," Askar Owladi, a high-ranking member of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, told attendees.
"So we do not feel concerned about who will be our next president," Owladi said. "We should make sure we can maximize the turnout because that high turnout can ensure and secure the future of our system."
Officials announced last week that the powerful Guardian Council approved incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and three other candidates to run in an election that hinges on domestic economic issues but could weigh heavily on the course of several Middle East standoffs.
Though Ahmadinejad, as president, has considerably less power than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's highest political and spiritual authority, a continued Ahmadinejad presidency, for one thing, would make it tougher for the West to make a deal with Iran over its nuclear program.
Still, for many in the ruling establishment of the Islamic Republic, who wins the presidency is almost less important than how many people vote. In other countries, political operatives and candidates knock on doors, organize carpools and enlist volunteers to encourage voters to cast ballots. In Iran, the government itself rallies voters to the polls.
Khamenei has long placed huge stock on voter participation as a validation of the Islamic Republic's popularity, describing any vote for a candidate as a symbol of national honor and a show of support for Iran's unique political system, which combines elements of a democracy with clerical rule.
Election day "is one of the Iranian nation's big tests before the eyes of the enemies," Khamenei said in a speech this month in western Iran, apparently referring to the West and Israel. "Their aim is to [do something] so that elections are held with little enthusiasm and poor turnout. They want the people of Iran not to have an active participation in the elections."
Central government officials play a heavy role in overseeing elections, monitoring for fraud and counting ballots.
