HARDLINER ‘WINS’ IRAN PRESIDENCY AFTER RIVALS ARE DISQUALIFIED

Hardline judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi is set to be Iran's next president after victory in this week's elections, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday, Farshid Motahari reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Reporting for the Associated Press (AP), Jon Gambrell said the election of Raisi, already sanctioned by the US in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, became more of a coronation after his strongest competition found themselves disqualified from running, sparking calls for a boycott.

Many apparently did stay home — out of over 59 million eligible voters, only 28.9 million voted. Of those voting, some 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates.

Raisi’s obviously rigged victory was hailed by Russia, Syria, Iraq, Hamas, Houthis, and Arab countries but condemned by Michael Page, the deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), who told Reuters, "Iranian authorities paved the way for Ebrahim Raisi to become president through repression and an unfair election. As head of Iran's repressive Judiciary, Raisi oversaw some of the most heinous crimes in Iran’s recent history, which deserve investigation and accountability rather than election to high office."

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, remarked that “Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction."

Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, also told Reuters: "Ebrahim Raisi, the henchman of the 1988 massacre and murderer of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK), is Khamenei’s final bid to preserve his regime. Weak, crisis-riddled, and rattled by looming uprisings, Khamenei purged all rivals to install Raisi as president, one of the vilest criminals against humanity since World War II."

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