Crowded Polls After Hard-Fought Iran Election

Standing in line to vote in a mosque polling station on Friday morning, Fatemah Moghaddasi left no doubt about who she was supporting in Iran’s presidential elections.

“We don’t want our country to be trapped in a no-hijab situation, with no discipline,” she said, clutching her black covering with one hand. “We will only accept Ahmadinejad.”

Ms. Moghaddasi was one of tens of millions of Iranians who crowded to the polls to take part in what is widely seen here as a referendum on the hard-line policies of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Turnout appeared to be extraordinarily high, with long lines forming outside some polling stations well before they opened at 8 a.m.

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Posted in * International News & Commentary, Iran, Middle East