Rafsanjani Makes Eve of Poll Privatisation Pledge

Gareth Smyth and Najmeh Bozorgmehr, The Financial Times:

On the eve of Friday’s run-off ballot to elect a new president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has appealed for support from ethnic minorities and offered every family in Iran $11,000 worth of shares from privatised companies. READ MORE

Mr Rafsanjani, at 71 a senior figure since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, faces a stiff challenge from Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, 49, the fundamentalist mayor of Tehran, and is targeting those thought to be worried about Mr Ahmadi-Nejad as president.

In letters to Kurdish and Baluchi leaders, Mr Rafsanjani promised to “remove the shortcomings of the past to achieve…equality of citizens’ rights for every ethnic group and religion”.

Kurds, mainly in the north-west, and Baluchis, near Pakistan, make up the bulk of Sunni Muslims who are 10-15 per cent of Iran’s mainly Shia Muslim population of 68m people.

Sunnis showed little support in last week’s first-round ballot for fundamentalist candidates, including Mr Ahmadi-Nejad.

Sistan-Baluchestan province is particularly promising for Mr Rafsanjani, as 55.7 per cent voted for Mostafa Moein, the reformist candidate who has asked supporters to back Mr Rafsanjani today.

In a televised address on Wednesday, Mr Rafsanjani also promised a wide-ranging privatisation programme, seemingly modelled on several Eastern European countries in the 1990s, in which shares would be distributed to all Iranians. Each family receiving 100m rials (US$11,230) worth of state shares, he said.

Hossein Abdeh-Tabrizi, head of the Tehran Stock Exchange, quickly backed the plan. Some TSE brokers are nervous about an victory by Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, although the Tehran price index (Tepix) has fallen just 25.4 points (or 0.2 per cent) since Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s strong showing in last Friday’s first round.

Mr Ahmadi-Nejad’s aides deny reports that he considers the TSE “gambling”, which is not permissible in Islam.

The effect of Mr Rafsanjani’s privatisation promise is uncertain. It came too late even for Thursday’s newspapers - the last before polling day. “I can’t comment because I don’t know any details,” said one broker.

Mr Rafsanjani also promised to pay the equivalent of $90-$170 per month to the unemployed, and $79 to women who are family bread-winners.

Mr Ahmadi-Nejad finished his campaign with a film showing his humble house and the young managers he has appointed at Tehran city hall.

“Where does it say in Islam that rulers should live in palaces?” asked Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, gently driving home the message that has resonated with poorer Iranians.

Following complaints last week, Mojtaba Rashad, deputy interior minister, on Thursday urged the judiciary to stop Revolutionary Guards and members of the Basij militia from acting as supervisors in polling stations. He said this was ruled out by a law against “interference” by the armed forces in elections.