TEHRAN, Iran — It was 6 a.m. when we reached the leader of Iran’s residence in central Tehran. It was my first visit to the vast compound that brings together all the state institutions under the supreme leader's direct supervision. At 8 a.m. sharp, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entered the hall where he is supposed to cast his votes — one for the presidential election and another for the local and municipal elections. Khamenei greeted the electoral committee first. He headed toward the ballots, smiled at the journalists — mostly Iranian and a few foreigners — then closed his eyes and murmured some words, apparently a prayer, then cast his votes.
Nobody knows Khamenei’s electoral choices. “I believe that the presidential election is extremely important,” Khamenei told reporters. “The destiny of the country is in the hands of the people who choose the head of the executive branch. They should be aware of the significance of this,” he added.
On the way from Beit Rahbari, the leader’s residence, to northern Tehran, several electoral centers had long lines. Some voters had their children with them despite the fact that these children can’t vote. “It’s just about making them get used to the concept,” said a woman Al-Monitor met at a polling station in Aqdasieh. She was standing on one side of the center with her daughter; on the other side, her husband accompanied their second daughter. “We are here to say yes to President [Hassan Rouhani] — and because I want him to win and the other candidate to lose, I and all these people came here.” Her comments tormented one of the voters by her side. “You can’t say all of us; I’m not here to vote for your candidate,” one of the ladies said firmly. “I see that Rouhani poses a threat to the revolution; he’s not the president that we want to lead us. For my children and the children of my fellow Iranians, we have to make the change," the other lady added.
The debate we witnessed between the two women isn’t too far removed from the debates that already took place between the Iranian candidates and their supporters everywhere in Iran during one month of electoral campaigns. This shows that the ballot on May 19 isn’t only for the presidency, but for the future of Iran, as both sides believe that winning this time gives them the chance to set the country’s agenda for the coming years.
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