Iran election: Ebrahaim Raisi, hardline cleric, wins controversial vote

Iran election: Ebrahaim Raisi, hardline cleric, wins controversial vote

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Raisi, who is currently under US sanctions, emerged as the frontrunner after an election supervisory body barred all of his serious rivals from the race. Analysts described the vote as the country’s most uncompetitive election since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

With 90% of the ballots counted, voter turnout stood at around 48%, according to election officials. Far fewer voters turned up for this election, which was widely seen as a foregone conclusion, than they did in 2017, when turnout was over 70%.

Raisi has so far garnered more than 17.8 million votes, followed by Mohsen Rezaei, another conservative who secured 3.3 million votes. The sole moderate candidate, Abdolnaser Hemmati, got 2.4 million votes.

President-elect Raisi will officially take office in 45 days, at which point he will become Iran’s eighth president. Until that time, Hassan Rouhani will remain acting president of Iran.

The election comes at a pivotal moment for Iran. The next government will…

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