Prospects for reform?: the Iranian elections: assessing the candidates: ‘if the majority does not vote, the minority will govern’

On Parkway Square in north Tehran is a large banner sponsored by a political party not supporting Ahmadinejad. It reads, ‘If the majority does not vote, the minority will govern.’ This sentence is part of the Islamic Republic’s campaign to obtain high voter turnout. It also has a subtle meaning aimed at the youth and urban populations which constitute an electoral majority and thus underscores a dynamic of the 2009 presidential elections, considered by many to be the most important election since 1989. A large voter turnout amongst these groups will bring defeat to the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and ensure victory of one of the reformist-leaning candidates, Mehdi Karrubi or Mir Hossein Mussavi.