His main challenger is seen as Ebrahim Raisi, 56, a hardline cleric and former prosecutor who is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Every incumbent president has been re-elected in Iran since 1985, when Ayatollah Khamenei himself won a second term. On the final day of campaigning on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei called for a massive turnout to demonstrate the popularity of the Islamic regime. The supreme leader also warned that “any attempt to undermine the security of the country will be met with immediate reaction”. In 2009, the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered the biggest protests in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Source: Dhaka Tribune May 19, 2017 03:56 UTC