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AZUZ: It's just days before an election in the Middle Eastern nation of Iran. People there will go to the polls on Friday, and the country's current vice president, who was a candidate for office announced yesterday he dropped out of the race. He's the second person to do that with the election looming and he endorsed the country's current leader, President Hassan Rouhani for another term.
Iran is a theocratic republic. Its citizens democratically elect the president and lawmakers, but there's a catch — not everyone gets to run for office. Iran's highest authority, the supreme leader, has the final say on all of Iran's policies. The ultra conservative Muslim cleric appoints a panel that decides who gets to run for the presidency in the first place. So, the choices are limited and the stakes are high.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, cnn SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Election buzz Iranian-style. Supporters for incumbent President Hassan Rouhani drumming up enthusiasm for what they feel will be a close vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because he made my country so much better in his first four years.
PLEITGEN: Rouhani has a balanced approach to foreign relations, this woman says. I think he will continue this policy. So, I'll vote for him.
Rouhani is a moderate. He wants to build on his biggest achievement, the nuclear agreement reached two years ago between Iran and several world powers that curbs Iran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief.
But these folks are in a tough political fight against Rouhani. Iran's conservatives have unified behind this man, the ideological hardliner, Ebrahim Raisi. The conservatives want Iran to get tougher on America. They say the nuclear agreement hasn't brought the economic benefits Rouhani promised.
Our youth are ready to work and get married, Raisi said. But the framework is not right for them to get jobs. Does the situation really need to continue? And should we continue to look to foreign powers to solve our problems?
Campaigning has become vicious by Iranian standards. Almost all candidates accused each other of being corrupt in a recent TV debate. Rouhani even saying conservatives try to undermine his efforts to negotiate the nuclear agreement.
Many analysts and pollsters here in Iran say the race is simply too close to call, just days before the election. That's also because around 15 percent of voters remain undecided.
And so, both sides continue to mobilize their supporters, hoping to gain an edge in an election they believe will be key in determining their country's economic and political future.
Fred Pleitgen, cnn, Tehran.
