From a report by NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press
Iranians vote today (Friday) on whether to keep hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for four more years or replace him with Mir Hossein Mousavi, a reformist more open to loosening the country's Islamic restrictions and improving ties with the United States.
The rowdy election campaign, which lasted less than a month, electrified many voters and reshaped how the world sees Iran's political process. The mass street demonstrations, polished campaign slogans and televised debates more closely resembled Western elections than the scripted campaigns in most other Middle Eastern countries.
Iran's cell phone text messaging system was down on Friday. Many Iranians, especially young voters — many of whom favor Mir Hossein Mousavi — frequently used text messages to spread election information quickly to friends and family.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is in a neck-to-neck battle with Ahmadinejad, accused Iran's telecommunications provider, which is owned by the government, of shutting the system and alleged that some of his representatives were barred from entering polling stations to monitor the vote.
"Unfortunately, some of my representatives were blocked from entering polling stations and SMS (text messaging) is also down, which is against the law," Mousavi said after voting, according to his campaign Website. "We should not be fearful about the free flow of information, and I urge officials to observe the law."
The spokesman for Iran's telecommunication ministry, Davood Zareian, confirmed to The Associated Press that the text message system has been down since late Wednesday. "We are investigating the case," he said without elaborating.
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