Hard-line judiciary head wins Iran presidency as turnout low
Source: AP
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Irans hard-line judiciary chief won the countrys presidential election in a landslide victory Saturday, propelling the supreme leaders protege into Tehrans highest civilian position in a vote that appeared to see the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republics history.
Initial results showed Ebrahim Raisi won 17.8 million votes in the contest, dwarfing those of the races sole moderate candidate. However, Raisi dominated the election only after a panel under the watch of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei disqualified his strongest competition.
His candidacy, and the sense the election served more as a coronation for him, sparked widespread apathy among eligible voters in the Islamic Republic, which has held up turnout as a sign of support for the theocracy since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Some, including former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called for a boycott.
In initial results, former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei won 3.3 million votes and moderate Abdolnasser Hemmati got 2.4 million, said Jamal Orf, the head of Irans Interior Ministry election headquarters. The races fourth candidate, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, had around 1 million votes, Orf said.
Ebrahim Raisi, a candidate in Iran's presidential elections waves to the media after casting his vote at a polling station in Tehran, Iran Friday, June 18, 2021. Iran began voting Friday in a presidential election tipped in the favor of a hard-line protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, fueling public apathy and sparking calls for a boycott in the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-judiciary-4d60554fd608a5dea2c76a303ec352d8
Lovie777
(12,321 posts)I'm one that doesn't believe Iran holds fair and balance elections.
ripcord
(5,507 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,033 posts)StevieM
(10,500 posts)This election will help set him up for that after Khamenei dies.
ancianita
(36,132 posts)It is officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, 99.4% Islam, made up of 89.46% Shia Islam (official) and
9.94% Sunni Islam.
Boycotts? Sure, knock yourselves out.
VarryOn
(2,343 posts)It doesn't matter who they "elect." The Supreme Leader calls the shots.