Vote counting started after the presidential election in Iran

The successor to President Hassan Ruhani could already be announced today.

Hardly anyone expects a surprise.

Tehran (dpa) - The Iranian Interior Ministry began counting the votes for the presidential election on Saturday night.

The clear favorite among the four candidates is the arch-conservative cleric and head of justice Ebrahim Raeissi.

The reform-minded economist Abdolnasser Hemmati, who is particularly hoping for protest votes, is given the opportunity to be outsider. 

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the first results are to be announced this afternoon and the final results tomorrow.

But if there is a clear trend in favor of Raeissis, he could be determined earlier as the successor to Hassan Ruhani and thus the new president.

Ruhani himself was no longer allowed to run after two terms in office.

Iranians saw the election as staged and undemocratic

Raeissi was the top candidate of the hardliners and preferred president of the establishment.

Four years ago he had failed because of Ruhani, but this time his way to the presidential office was much easier. The so-called Guardian Council, which, as an electoral body, sorted out serious competitors, made sure of that.

This even led to violent protests within their own ranks - and to great disinterest on the part of the people in an election that was widely perceived as being staged and undemocratic.

With Raeissi, the media and observers expect a change of political power in the country.

They are convinced that the arch-conservative cleric would not continue the moderate course of Ruhani as president.

As a long-time public prosecutor, judge and head of justice since 2019, he has little political experience.

Yet he faces many political challenges.

Nuclear deal is on the table

First of all, he has to decide on the future of the Vienna nuclear agreement of 2015, which would also be the basic prerequisite for an economic crisis caused by the US sanctions.

But this would require negotiations with the archenemy USA.

In Middle East politics, observers under Raeissi expect a more radical course, and in relation to archenemy Israel an even more hostile one than before.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210619-99-56414 / 3