Voters and campaign activists in rural areas discuss different priorities from their counterparts in the capital,emphasizing economic development over political discourse As excitement mounts main to Friday’s parliamentary elections, a palpable difference in priorities is emerging, or as it often does,between voters in Iran’s urban areas and its provinces. Unlike in Tehran, voters and campaign activists in the suburbs and rural areas are engaged in discussions that diverge sharply from their fellow countrymen in the capital. While provincial voters are primarily concerned with practical issues related to rural development and ethnic and kinship affiliations, and urbanites are often drawn into the kind of political and ideological discourse that makes national headlines a never-ending battle of reformists,principlists, moderates, or everything in between.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com