Reformists Seek Large Turnout for Presidential Race

A top reformist lawmaker said promoting a huge electoral turnout tops his camp's agenda for the presidential election scheduled for May 19. "We will once again show that we are following the path that started in May 2013 more resolutely," IRNA quoted Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of Hope parliamentary group and the Reformist Policymaking Council, as saying on Monday, IRNA reported. Aref was referring to the date of last presidential vote that led to the election of President Hassan Rouhani. He played an effective role in Rouhani's win by withdrawing his candidacy in favor of the incumbent president on the eve of those elections. Aref's fellow reformists and Rouhani's moderate supporters forged an alliance in last February's twin polls for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, an influential clerical institution tasked with appointing and dismissing the Leader of Islamic Revolution and monitoring his work. The coalition made substantial gains in those polls, with Aref emerging as Tehran's top vote-getter in the Majlis elections.