Congratulations poured in for ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi Saturday on winning Iran’s presidential election as his rivals conceded even before official results were announced.
The other three candidates in the race all congratulated him for his victory, which had been widely expected after a host of heavyweight rivals had been barred from running.
“I congratulate the people on their choice,” said outgoing moderate president Hassan Rouhani without naming Raisi. “My official congratulations will come later, but we know who got enough votes in this election and who is elected today by the people.”
The other two ultraconservative candidates – Mohsen Rezai andAmirhossein Qazizadeh Hashemi – explicitly congratulated Raisi, as did the only reformist in the race, former central bank governorAbdolnasser Hemmati.
Raisi, 60, takes over from Rouhani in August as Iran seeks to salvage its tattered nuclear deal with major powers and free itself from punishing US sanctions that have driven a sharp economic downturn.
Raisi, the head of the judiciary whose black turban signifies direct descent from Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, is seen as close to the 81-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ultimate political power in Iran.
Friday’s voting was extended by two hours past the original midnight deadline amid fears of a low turnout of 50 percent or less.
The ballots were counted overnight, and authorities were yet to release the official result or turnout figures.