An Iranian casts a ballot during a general election.[/caption]Nationwide campaigns are in full swing in Iran ahead of the June 14 presidential election, with all of the candidates extensively using the Internet as the main means of campaigning,Press TVreports.
The six presidential candidates have at least one official website, while grassroots supporters have created dozens of websites on the Internet and the social media.
The campaign team for principlist candidate Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, who is the mayor of Tehran, has dedicated years of work to online exposure. Qalibafs supporters say they are the pioneers in the countrys online campaigning.
In the election campaign the candidates have entered the online world too along with TV and street campaigns. Dr. Qalibaf is one of the pioneers in this arena as his supporters started their online campaign for him eight years ago, a citizen in Qalibafs campaign team told a Press TV correspondent in Tehran on Monday.
Mohsen Rezaei's campaign team has started an online radio in addition to launching websites.
We have started a new initiative in Irans election campaign the first internet radio channel to better reach the people It already has 4,000 online viewers every hour, said a citizen campaigning for Rezaei, who is the secretary of the Expediency Council.
Independent candidate Mohammad Gharazi is also campaigning online. One of his supporters said the former telecommunications minister believes that using posters, papers or other ordinary methods as used before are not necessarily good for the campaign since it "somehow supports the inflation in the country."
Principlist candidate Ali-Akbar Velayati has been campaigning both on billboards on the streets and online. People have been continuously checking the former foreign ministers website and online social media.
Principlist candidate Saeed Jalilis supporters have been using posters and pamphlets as well as the Internet to campaign for the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
The supporters of reformist candidate Hassan Rohani, who is the director of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council, have also been posting online his every single move.
On June 10, former candidates Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and Mohammad-Reza Aref dropped out of the presidential election.
In an official statement, former Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said he would continue to make efforts to help the principlist camp win the election. He said he stepped aside after evaluating the situation and the reality on the ground.
Former Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref announced his decision to drop out of the election in a statement issued late on Monday, in which he said the decision was made after he received suggestions from former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who advised him to stand aside.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election after the Guardian Council vets the candidates.
Nearly 50.5 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
By Press TV
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