Flurry of text messages ends Iran vote campaign

TEHRAN, Dec 14 (Reuters) In a flurry of last-minute mobile text messages from rival camps, campaigning ended in Iran before tomorrows's elections that will be the first popularity test for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since he won the presidency last year.

''Let us show our unity again. Vote for Ahmadinejad's backers who want to rebuild Tehran,'' said one text message, urging voters to turn out for the Tehran City Council race, a key battleground in the nationwide race for city and rural councils.

Reformists, routed in the 2003 council vote and defeated in the parliament and presidency races, are seeking a comeback. Whether they can win seats in Tehran, where they hold none, will test whether they can challenge Ahmadinejad in the future.

Alongside the councils race, Iran's 46.5 million eligible voters will choose the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body which appointed, supervises and can dismiss Iran's highest authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Posters of bearded clerics in turbans running for what is, in theory, the most powerful institution in the Islamic Republic have been pasted on walls or flutter from trees along streets.

But many Iranians feel the assembly has little to do with their everyday lives, putting the spotlight on the council vote.

''Boycotting elections has not worked in previous elections, please vote for the reformist candidates,'' read a text message sent as campaigning officially ended in the middle of last night from and today.

Many voters stayed home in the 2003 councils race, disillusioned with the failure of reformists to deliver their promises of creating a freer society and tired of their internal squabbling. This handed victory to conservatives.

DIVIDED COUNCIL Now reformists have united for the councils race. But conservatives are split, mainly between supporters of Ahmadinejad and those backing Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who lost in the 2005 presidential race.

''I think Ahmadinejad supporters will win. Iranians still do not trust reformists to vote for them,'' said Mohsen Jahanian, a political science teacher.

Some of the president's critics fear Basijis, a devout religious militia who analysts say backed Ahmadinejad for the presidency and his vow of a return to revolutionary principles, may mobilise to swing the vote towards Ahmadinejad's allies.

But a government official dismissed this as ''speculation'' aimed at playing down the president's popularity. Ahmadinejad still draws enthusiastic crowds at rallies around the country even as grumbling about rising prices has increased.

Other analysts expect a divided Tehran council and a protracted battle over who becomes mayor -- an influential post used by Ahmadinejad as his launchpad for the presidency.

Results may not be released until at least 48 hours after polls close tomorrow. Forecasting is hampered because Iran has no reliable opinion polls and lacks disciplined parties.

In the Assembly of Experts race, some candidate lists include both moderate clerics like former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and his arch opponent, firebrand Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, seen as Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor.

Some reformists say Mesbah-Yazdi wants to dominate the assembly in a bid to impose his vision of rule where authority is drawn from God not the people's vote. But clerics say he does not have enough clerics running to achieve that goal.

Reformists, who want experts from other fields not just theologians in the assembly, are hardly present in the race because they were either barred by a conservative panel that vets hopefuls or, expecting to be blocked, did not sign up.

REUTERS BDP VV1834