Election campaign kicks off in Iran

Campaigning began on April 21 for Iran's presidential election with incumbent Hassan Rouhani facing a tough battle against hardliners, though not from former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who was barred from standing.

Ahmadinejad's disqualification by the conservative-run Guardian Council was no surprise -- he had been advised not to run by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who said it would "polarize" the nation. His populist economics and defiant attitude to the establishment had alienated even Ahmadinejad's hardline backers during his 2005-2013 tenure.

"Once the supreme leader had told him not to stand, it became impossible for him to be cleared by the Guardian Council," said Clement Therme, research fellow for Iran at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"By his second term, [Ahmadinejad] was even challenging the clerics. He was not useful anymore for the system."

The mood in Tehran has been subdued -- many are disillusioned with Rouhani's failure to kick-start the economy despite broad support for his efforts to rebuild ties with the West, notably through a nuclear deal with world powers that eased sanctions.

Campaigning, which the Guardian Council announced could begin immediately, had not been supposed to start for another week, so there was little activity on April 21. But experts say the authorities are keen to excite interest in the vote. "They need that for legitimacy -- the turnout is even more important than the result," said Therme.

Iran's elections are tightly controlled, with the Guardian Council allowing just six people -- and no women -- to stand for the May 19 vote out of 1,636 hopefuls that registered last week. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent, a run-off between the...