Friday, June 17 2005 20:18 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tehran: Iranians voted today (Jun 17, 2005) in a high-stakes presidential election amid boycott calls from young people disillusioned with a system run by clerics.

The election could be the closest presidential race since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. None of the seven candidates is expected to get the 50 per cent support needed to win outright, meaning the two top vote getters will likely meet in a runoff vote.

Iran's official television showed long lines outside polling stations but there was no independent indication of the early voter turnout.

Reformers won the past two presidential votes in landslides- but their supporters have been alienated after hard-liners blocked outgoing President Mohammad Khatami's attempts at change. Some reformers called for a boycott of the vote, convinced change can't come through the ballot box.

That has thrown the race wide open. The front-runner is Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was president from 1989-1997, a pragmatist who claims support among both reformers and conservatives.

Second place would appear to be a contest between reformist Mostafa Moin and a former police chief, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, 44, who appeals to conservatives. But they share one trait, seeking to become the first non-cleric President since Mohammad Ali Rajai was assassinated in 1981.

Moin's supporters have been campaigning hard for the young to ignore the boycott calls and turn out in large numbers.