Iran has a new president

Sayyid Ebrahim Raisol-Sadati, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi will be Iran’s new president, according to data from the partial counting of votes from yesterday’s presidential election in the country. He leads convincingly in front of the other three candidates, BNR writes.

Shiite cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who heads the judiciary, has ultra-conservative views. He is under US sanctions.

The president of Iran is the second highest-ranking official in the country, after the supreme leader. He has a significant influence on domestic policy and foreign affairs, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all state issues.

Raisi’s three rivals and incumbent President Hassan Rohani congratulated him on his victory.

So far, Raisi has received 62 percent of the vote, or nearly 18 million of the 28 million ballots cast.

59 million Iranians had the right to vote. 600 people were registered to vote, but only seven received approval from the Board of Trustees.

Three of these candidates withdrew just a day before the vote.

Ebrahim Raisi, a 60-year-old cleric, has served as a prosecutor for most of his career. He was appointed head of the judiciary in 2019. Raisi declared himself the most suitable person to fight corruption and solve Iran’s economic problems.

However, many Iranians and human rights activists have expressed concern about his role in the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s.