Voters snubbed a dissident-led boycott and filled polling sites yesterday in a tight presidential race to decide who will inherit Iran's many challenges including reform pressures at home and crucial nuclear talks with the West. But the count expected today also could end without a clear winner. If no candidate clears the 50 percent mark, the contest shrinks to a two-man showdown on June 24 and reopens the Western-style campaigns that have reshaped Iranian politics. A run-off scenario is almost certain to include political veteran Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a leader of the 1979 revolution. |