Iranians cheered President Mohammad Khatami to the polls yesterday as the smiling cleric sought a second landslide victory to help him to push through reforms blocked by entrenched conservative rivals.
Mr Khatami (57) looked set to score a crushing win over nine second-ranking opponents but needed an overwhelming popular mandate to try to overcome resistance to his political and social reforms within the clerical establishment.
A poll for the official IRNA news agency gave Mr Khatami 74 per cent and Mr Tavakoli 12 per cent. It forecast an 83 per cent turnout, higher than the 76 per cent who voted in 1997, even though second-term presidents usually bring out fewer voters.
The US pollsters Zogby International forecast Mr Khatami would win 75 per cent, with his nearest challenger, the right wing former Labour Minister, Mr Ahmad Tavakoli, taking just 11 per cent.
The other contenders, including a controversial former spy chief accused of involvement in killing dissidents, an admiral, a doctor, a lawyer and a university chancellor, were credited with single-figure percentages.
Even before the polls closed, one of the other also-rans, Vice President Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, told IRNA that he expected Mr Khatami to win about 70 per cent of the vote.
The incumbent President, who has brought unprecedented political and social reforms to the Islamic republic, needed a high turnout to boost his bid for more power to complete his programme.
"The important thing is that people should vote," he said after casting his ballot at a mosque. "We should provide a secure environment for all Iranians - those residing here and abroad - to contribute to the development of the country."
More than 1.5 million Iranians live abroad. Many left the country after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
About 100 local residents gathered outside the mosque, clapping and cheering. "Khatami, Khatami, we love you," they chanted, echoing ecstatic receptions the President received at public appearances during the campaign.
Queues formed yesterday outside mosques and schools serving as polling stations across the country, with many older Iranians saying they wanted to vote early to avoid searing heat later in the day.
Squabbles broke out at one mosque between women dressed in Islamic black chadors, who wanted separate queues from men and women with more open headscarves and long coats.
The Interior Ministry announced that balloting had been extended for two hours because of the number of people waiting to vote. Counting was to begin immediately after voting ended and the ministry said it expected to issue final results today.