That’s not relevant either way, since both Rouhani and Ahmadinejad believe and espouse the same things as the Ayatollah. If they stop voting, they’ll be made to vote, just like with the last “election” in North Korea where “100 percent” of the populace “voted” for Kim Jong-un.
My point was that the ultimate authority for policy, foreign policy too, does not rest with the President (Rouhani, Ahmadinejad or any other president) in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). It rests with the Supreme leader (Khamenei, for now) as per the Velayat-e faghih constitution of IRI.
On your other point, and in tandem with my original quote from article: Supporters of Rouhani hoped his election last year would usher in a more tolerant era than the one of his predecessor, must say, surprisingly or not, some mullahs even within the regime can be more "tolerant", as Khatami was, remember him? But, only can push very limited 'ideas' through, due to Velayat-e Faghih Constitution. Mostly, they can not action their "tolerant" policies.
Yet, every time before the election, we get people, even some Iranian expats urging people to vote! Both the Iranian people and others need to finally understand that IRI only has a semblance of democracy.