Iran's presidential election begins

Ayatollah ’s pick, , is likely to win * Low turnout expected, as low as 30%-40% compared to 70% in 2017.

By Yonah Jeremy Bob / June 17, 2021

Iran’s presidential election was set to kick off on Friday with Ebrahim Raisi, the pick of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expected to win in a landslide. […] Even in 2019, there were signs that Raisi had emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Khamenei as supreme leader, said INSS Iran expert Raz Zimmt. Since Raisi’s appointment as head of the judiciary in March 2019, Zimmt said, the conservative cleric had expanded his efforts to advance changes in the legal system, improve his public image, and increase his media exposure. The new marketing effort, and Khamenei overtly supporting these efforts, were highly significant in that they occurred despite Raisi’s losing the presidential race in 2017. Khamenei’s message appeared to be clear, noted Zimmt: he did not care that Raisi lost to Rouhani, he wanted Raisi as his successor. Zimmt added that Raisi’s “closeness to the supreme leader, his experience in the judicial authority, his tenure as chairman of the foundation (and the ) in the city of , and his hard-line positions alongside his increasing efforts to improve his public standing, make him the leading candidate at this stage in the battle of succession.”

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For full article: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/irans-presidential-election-begins-671365