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    Categories: News

Iran election: Hassan Rouhani on course for second term

Photo: Reuters

 

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is on course for a second term in office, preliminary results show, the BBC reports.

Out of 26 million votes counted so far, he has won 14.6 million – or more than half, officials announced on state TV.

Mr Rouhani’s main challenger lodged complaints about alleged voting irregularities in the polls.

Ebrahim Raisi accused supporters of Mr Rouhani of hundreds of acts of propaganda at voting booths, which are banned under electoral law.

Mr Raisi, 56, is a conservative cleric with a background in the judicial system.

Reuters reported that Mr Rouhani was on course to win more than 50% of the vote in the first round, thus avoiding a second-round run-off.

Voting time was extended by five hours, until midnight, amid an unexpectedly high turnout of about 70%.

The interior ministry said more than 40 million votes had been cast.

Election officials said the extensions to voting hours were due to “requests” and the “enthusiastic participation of people”.

Emil Lazarian: “I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS
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