Opinion polling indicated that Iran’s judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi was the front-runner of only four candidates.

Raisi, already under US sanctions and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s hard-line protege, dominated the presidential election as Iranians voted on Friday, fueling apathy that left some polling places largely deserted.

As night fell, turnout appeared far lower than in Iran’s last presidential election in 2017.

At one polling place inside a mosque in central Tehran, a Shiite cleric played football with a young boy as most of its workers napped in a courtyard.

At another, officials watched videos on their mobile phones as state television blared beside them, offering only tight shots of locations around the country -as opposed to the long, snaking lines of past elections.

Balloting came to a close at 2 am on Saturday, after the government extended voting to accommodate what it called “crowding” at several polling places nationwide. Paper ballots were to be counted by hand through the night, and authorities said they expected to have initial results and turnout figures on Saturday morning at the earliest.

Apathy abound

“My vote will not change anything in this election, the number of people who are voting for Raisi is huge and Hemmati does not have the necessary skills for this,” said Hediyeh, a 25-year-old woman who gave only her first name while hurrying to a taxi in Haft-e Tir Square after avoiding the polls.

“I have no candidate here.”

Iranian state television sought to downplay the turnout, pointing to the Gulf Arab sheikhdoms surrounding it ruled by hereditary leaders and the lower participation in Western democracies.

After a day of amplifying officials’ attempts to get out the vote, state TV broadcast scenes of jam-packed voting booths in several provinces overnight, seeking to portray a last-minute rush to the polls.

But since the 1979 revolution overthrew the Shah, Iran’s theocracy has cited voter turnout as a sign of its legitimacy, beginning with its first referendum that won 98.2 per cent support that simply asked whether or not people wanted an Islamic Republic.

Voter apathy also has been fed by the devastated state of the economy and subdued campaigning amid months of surging coronavirus cases. Poll workers wore gloves and masks, and some wiped down ballot boxes with disinfectants.

Raisi ramificiations

If Raisi is elected,  it would put hard-liners firmly in control across the government as negotiations in Vienna continue to try to save a tattered deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program at a time when Tehran is enriching uranium at its highest levels ever.

Whoever wins will likely serve two four-year terms and thus could be at the helm at what could be one of the most crucial moments for the country in decades – the death of the 82-year-old Khamenei.

Speculation already has begun that Raisi might be a contender for the position, along with Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba.

Khamenei cast the first vote from Tehran, urging the public to “go ahead, choose and vote.”

Raisi, wearing a black turban, voted from a mosque in southern Tehran. The cleric acknowledged in comments afterward that some may be “so upset that they don’t want to vote.”

“I beg everyone, the lovely youths, and all Iranian men and women speaking in any accent or language from any region and with any political views, to go and vote and cast their ballots,” Raisi said.

His call stirred a few, There are more than 59 million eligible voters in Iran. However, the state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency has estimated a turnout will be just 44 per cent, lowest since the revolution. Officials gave no turnout figures Friday, though results could come Saturday.

“It is useless,” said Ali Hosseini, a 36-year-old unemployed resident in southern Tehran, about voting. “Anyone who wins the election after some time says he cannot solve problem of the economy because of intervention by influential people. He then forgets his promises and we poor people again remain disappointed.”