“Everyone must vote, those who love Iran, those who like the Islamic Republic, those who love the grandeur and glory of Iran”, said Khamenei, who backed Rouhani’s nuclear talks but has continued to rail against United States influence.
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“Iran has enemies – they are eyeing us greedily”, he said.
Iranians hold flags with slogans like “We are standing up until the end” and “At your service Khamenei” in support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a rally in Tehran on February 11.
The reform coalition has asked the people, especially in the larger cities like Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Ahvaz and Rasht, to vote for the entire list, instead of going for the individual candidates.
Iranians are voting in simultaneous polls for a new Majles, or parliament, and a new Assembly of Experts, a powerful body which appoints the Supreme Leader.
Reformists seeking greater democratic changes and moderates supporting Rohani are pitted against hard-liners who oppose the nuclear deal and openings with the West.
For his part, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, after casting his vote, “All Iranians from different groups and parties have taken part in voting, all of them will come out victorious regardless of whether they win or lose in elections”.
However, what’s understandable is that the competition is so heated, and that the possible victory of the reformists in the polls will herald more hopeful, encouraging days for the Iranian people.
Both sides have called for a strong turnout.
Higher participation would help Rouhani and his reformist allies, after many moderate voters stayed away in 2012 in protest at the disputed re-election three years earlier of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Results are hard to predict, with conservatives traditionally doing well in rural areas and young urbanites favoring more reformist candidates.
Iranians vote in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.
As BBC notes, the newly-elected clerics may be responsible for choosing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor.
Mistrust of the West runs deep, and hardliners have sought to undermine Rouhani’s allies by accusing them of links to Western powers.
In Tehran, Mahshad Amiri (33) an architect waiting to vote, said reformists allied to Mr Rouhani had a clear strategy of economic development and openness to the world.
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This is due to the ability of the Guardian Council, a 12-member unelected body of clergy, to pre-select which candidates are allowed to stand, with nearly half of the 12,123 candidates who initially put their names forward cut from the roster before campaigning began. “And well, we’ll go and vote for the reformists”, he told euronews.
