Iran: Ebrahim Raïssi, an ultra-conservative close to the Supreme Leader elected president

Iranian ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raïssi during a press conference in Tehran on June 18, 2021. ATTA KENARE AFP

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The Iranians chose their new president on Friday June 18 in a ballot that seemed to be decided in advance.

The ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raïssi was elected with 61.95% of the vote, according to the official result.

A vote marked by an abstention of 48.8%, the lowest rate for such an election.

His portrait.

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A

hodjatoleslam

after a

hodjatoleslam.

Ebraim Raïssi has this Shiite religious title just like the outgoing president Hassan Rohani, to whom he will therefore succeed.

But that's one of the few things the two men have in common.

After Rohani the moderate, Ebrahim Raissi is an ultra-conservative close to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.

At 60, he is also regularly cited as a possible successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 82, the man who holds most of the power in Iran.

Gray beard, small glasses, black turban, long tunic of a member of the clergy, Ebrahim Raïssi was born in the holy city of Mashhad.

A 20-year-old prosecutor in the very young Islamic Republic, he then rose through the ranks of the judicial system until becoming its chief in 2019. 

Execution of political prisoners

During the campaign,

Ebrahim Raïssi

pledged to fight poverty and corruption in Iran.

Several human rights organizations claim that in his 40-year career, the ultra-conservative has participated in episodes of repression, including the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.

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See also: Iran: Ebrahim Raïssi elected president with 62% of the vote, according to partial results

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