[Beirut Daily Star: Region] A 2005 claim by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a "light" surrounded him during a UN address was mocked Monday by his main pro-reform opponents in the latest barrage against the Iranian president's competence and another sign of the bitter tone dominating the poll campaign in its final days.Ahmadinejad and his main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, have traded recriminations and engaged in mudslinging that has broken political taboos in Iran, reflecting the huge stakes in Friday's vote.
Reformists - sensing that Ahmadinejad's once-formidable lead has evaporated - have increased their attacks seeking to portray him as erratic and eccentric. Ahmadinejad has struck back with accusations that Mousavi, who served as prime minister in the 1980s, is part of a clique of corrupt leaders who put their own interests ahead of the country.
The current reformist salvo is a video clip sent by e-mail and on CDs of Ahmadinejad telling a top cleric, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, that a "light" enveloped him during his address to the UN General Assembly in 2005 and that the crowd stared without blinking during the entire speech.
"A member of the [Iranian] delegation told me, 'I saw a light that surrounded you,"' Ahmadinejad said. "I sensed it myself too ... I felt the atmosphere changed. All leaders in audience didn't blink for 27, 28 minutes. I'm not exaggerating when I'm saying they didn't blink. Everybody had been astonished ... they had opened their eyes and ears to see what is the message from the Islamic Republic."
The clip was released after Ahmadinejad on Saturday denied making the comment.
Mousavi's daily newspaper, Kalemeh Sabz, or Green Word, said in a front-page report that Amoli's office confirmed the video is authentic. The headline called it Ahmadinejad's "halo." Amoli could not be reached to verify the account in the Mousavi paper.
Mousavi accused Ahmadinejad of being "superstitious" and "brazenly staring at the camera and telling lies to the nation." On Saturday, Ahmadinejad said inflation stood at 15 percent, but Mousavi showed a report released by the Central Bank of Iran indicating it stood at 25 percent. "Why do we lie to people? Why do we give people wrong information? Is this to the country's benefit? Is gaining the presidential chair worth lying to people this blatantly?" Mousavi said on Sunday.
Reformists, who promise to ease social and political restrictions at home and seek better ties with the West, appear to be gaining ground on Ahmadinejad, who has become increasingly unpopular because of Iran's economic woes. Critics also say that he has needlessly enflamed world anger at Iran with his statements calling UN resolutions "worthless papers" and casting doubt on the Holocaust.
There are two other candidates in the race. Former Parliament Speaker Mahdi Karroubi, who is considered a moderate, could siphon some votes from Mousavi. Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, threatens to undercut Ahmadinejad's conservative base.
Ahmadinejad's comments also have become the source of political satire that takes aim at his pious reputation among his supporters. "Have you seen a halo in your addresses?" former vice president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, asked Karroubi during a documentary shown on state TV last week.
"Only certain people can see that. I don't have this spiritual status," Karroubi replied.
The head of the country's electoral committee said on Monday that Iran expects a record number of voters to cast their ballots in this week's presidential polls. "Definitely, the election ... will witness a record-breaking turnout," Kamran Daneshjoo told reporters.
Daneshjoo said the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of organizing the election, is putting in place a strategy to ensure "maximum participation" from the 46.2 million eligible voters. "Iranian people have shown their support of the revolution in different rallies, but on election day we will see the actual number of people who back their revolution," he said.
He predicted turnout would be high "despite the propaganda of the arrogant nations who are undermining the election."
Polls will open Friday at 8:00 a.m. and close 10 hours later, unless turnout is exceptionally high and provincial governors secure ministry approval for an extension of voting hours.
If a clear winner does not emerge on June 12, the election will go to a second-round runoff on June 19. To win outright in the first round, a candidate must secure 50 percent of the votes cast plus one vote.