A Tehran city councillor, whose conservative Abadgaran faction swept the 2003 local council elections, said on Wednesday reform-minded opponents would be no threat in December polls because they were too divided.
When Abadgaran took control of Tehran city council, the group which calls for social justice and a return to Islamic revolution principles replaced reformists who - even supporters admit - spent much of their term embroiled in bickering. Reformists, who seek political and social change, are now seeking a comeback in December 15 city and rural council polls.
But analysts say reformists still lack a united voice before what will be the first national vote since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with Abadgaran's backing, won the presidential race last year. "Really, we don't feel any threat from reformists ... (They) still need time to regroup," Nader Shariatmadari told Reuters from council offices which look across the sprawling capital.
Shariatmadari and his Abadgaran faction won 14 of 15 seats in Tehran's council in 2003. That win was repeated in councils across Iran, particularly big cities, although turnout was low. Many voters stayed away, disappointed with the failure of reformists to deliver promised changes. Analysts say this benefitted more disciplined voters backing Abadgaran.
Shariatmadari said reformists, when they controlled the council, offered political slogans but did little to ease the daily grind of Iranians trying to make ends meet in the traffic-clogged streets of Tehran or poor villages around Iran.
"You can talk about freedom for all your life ... but after a period of time only slogans about freedom are not enough. You have to do something for (the people's) daily life," said Shariatmadari, a former economic adviser to Ahmadinejad and who has studied in Canada.
Under Abadgaran, he said, Tehran council had improved roads and public transport. He points to a colourful map outlining a 15-year plan to expand the metro - a long-delayed project. Reformists say their plans were blocked by conservatives, who held key levers of power, like the judiciary, even when reformers controlled councils, parliament and the presidency. Now, Abadgaran dominate in councils and parliament.
But reformists admit mistakes. Tehran's mayor changed three times in their term, rival reformist factions fought and slogans about social freedoms failed to resonate with the poor. "We tried to have close contact with the people so that they can see that they can solve their problems through councils," said Shariatmadari, adding reformists would need to field more technocrats, not politicians, to make inroads in the vote. Several ministers from the former reformist administration will be running in the Tehran city council race.
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