Iran’s President Rouhani Reelected in Friday Vote

Rouhani Said to Win Decisive Victory Over Raisi

by Jason Ditz, May 19, 2017

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While the final, official count is still not released, sources within the Iranian government say that President Hassan Rouhanii has an insurmountable lead in today’s presidential election, and will easily secure victory over hardline candidate Ebrahim Raisi.

The Iranian Interior Ministry has reported a far bigger than expected turnout in the election, estimated at over 70%. This led to some five hours of extension in the amount of time the polls were open to accommodate everyone. Over 40 million votes were cast.

By the assessment of a source talking to Reuters, 37 million had been counted by this evening, with 21.6 million voting for Rouhani, meaning he’s going to get a majority, and the only question remaining is how big of a majority he will manage when all is said and done.

Rouhani’s staff has claimed he won about 60% of the vote, and fellow reformist Mohammad Khatami released a picture of Rouhani making a victory sign on social media, bragging “hope prevailed over isolation.” Though polls had predicted the vote would be closer, signs are that the heavy turnout strongly favored the reformist, and dealt a major blow to the hardliner.

http://news.antiwar.com/2017/05/19/irans-president-rouhani-reelected-in-friday-vote/