Congratulations came from inside and outside Iran on the victory of conservative candidate Ibrahim Raisi in the presidential elections that took place on Friday, while Britain and the United States questioned the integrity of the elections.
The Iranian Interior Minister announced the victory of candidate Ibrahim Raisi for the post of President of the Republic, after he obtained – according to the final official results – 62% of the Iranian vote. Read also Iranian presidential elections.. Why is the participation rate gaining exceptional attention this time? In light of Tehran and Washington’s adherence to their positions, how will the Iranian presidential elections affect the nuclear negotiations? Iranian presidential elections: reformists, conservatives, and criticism from within
Minister
The participation rate recorded a decrease in these elections compared to the previous ones, reaching papers, about 48.8%, and there were 3 million and 700 thousand invalid ballot are believed most of which to be empty or protest votes, according to Reuters.
In a statement issued after his victory was announced, Raisi pledged to be the president of all Iranians, and to form a government that fights corruption and promotes justice.
People’s Victory
In his first comment on the results, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei considered the presidential elections that took place on Friday “a victory for the Iranian people in the face of enemy propaganda.”
Khamenei added in a tweet that the victor in the elections is the people who once again thwarted what he described as malicious conspiracies and media war waged by the enemy.
In turn, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tehran reported that the outgoing President, Hassan Rouhani, visited on Saturday the presidential candidate Raisi in his office in the judiciary to congratulate him on his victory.
For his part, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Raisi had become president of all Iranians after receiving 20 million votes, and that he should work with him regardless of the agreement or disagreement with him.
Commenting on the preliminary results of the elections, Zarif said that everyone should work with Raisi from now on as he is the elected president. In his remarks, Zarif described Raisi as a “rational man” who would lead the country well.
Congratulations keep coming
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Raisi on his victory.
For his part, Iraqi President Barham Salih congratulated Raisi on his victory in the elections, and said that he is looking forward to consolidating relations with Iran. Salih stressed in his congratulations that the region is in dire need of wisdom and giving priority to the language of dialogue through establishing security and respect for sovereignty.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also congratulated his elected Iranian counterpart, expressing his wishes that the election results will bring “goodness to the friendly and brotherly people of Iran.”
Erdogan expressed his confidence that cooperation between the two countries will grow stronger during Raisi’s presidency, and said I will be happy to visit Iran – after overcoming the Corona pandemic – on the occasion of the next meeting of the Turkish-Iranian Cooperation Council.
The Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Emir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, congratulated the elected Iranian president. The Omani News Agency reported that Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, in turn, congratulated Raisi on his victory in the elections.
The Ruler of Dubai also congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Raisi, on his victory. For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) congratulated Raisi for “the people’s choice of him” and congratulated him on his victory in the presidential elections.
Raisi had been congratulated by all his rivals on his victory, before the official announcement of the election results.
In turn, the conservative Iranian newspapers published on Saturday praised what they described as the popular participation in the elections and the failure of the boycott calls.
Western doubt
In a related context, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tehran said that the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador against the background of what it described as Iranian voters being harassed by the Iranian opposition in London and Birmingham.
The Foreign Office added Saturday that the British authorities were unable to provide security for voters who wanted to vote in the Iranian presidential elections that took place on Friday.
In turn, the US State Department expressed its regret over what it called depriving the Iranians of a free and fair electoral process, adding that nuclear negotiations with Iran will continue.
On the other hand, Hussein Zulfiqari, the security assistant in the Ministry of Interior, said that his country did not witness any security incidents during the elections.
Zulfiqari added that 600,000 security personnel participated in the security plan to ensure the security of the elections.
On the other hand, one person was killed and 11 others were injured Saturday when a helicopter carrying a ballot box for the elections crashed in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran.
The governor of Khuzestan, Qassem Soleimani Dashtaki, said that the plane crashed while transporting a ballot box for the elections from the rugged Ahmad Fadalah district to the city of Dezful in Khuzestan, according to the Iranian Fars news agency. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.467.0_en.html#goog_1355997907
AI
For its part, Amnesty International said that the Iranian presidential candidate (Raisi) must be investigated for crimes against humanity, as it put it.
The organization added that Raisi is accused of involvement in the crimes of murder, enforced disappearance and torture against thousands of Iranians.
It is noteworthy that the winning candidate is one of the senior officials covered by US sanctions, the head of the country’s judiciary, and is believed to have the support of the Revolutionary Guards, and he lost the elections to Rouhani in 2017.
Who is my boss?
Agence France-Presse said that Raisi’s victory would strengthen the conservative movement’s grip on the joint government bodies in the republic, after its broad victory in the Shura Council elections last year.
Raisi, born 1960 in Mashhad, is a conservative religious and politician. He joined the judiciary in 1980 and worked as a public prosecutor until 1994.
In the same year, he was appointed head of the General Inspection Authority, and in 2004 he held the position of First Deputy of the Judicial Authority, which lasted for 10 years, and the Supreme Leader appointed him as Head of the Judiciary in 2019.
Raisi joined the Assembly of Experts in 2006, and then was appointed in 2017 as a member of the Expediency Council by a decree from Khamenei, and in the 2017 presidential elections he ranked second after Rouhani.
The 2021 elections came in light of an economic and social crisis caused mainly by US sanctions, and exacerbated by the Corona pandemic.