Iran’s Rouhani sweeps to second term

IRANIAN President Hassan Rouhani won a resounding re-election victory yesterday as voters overwhelmingly backed his efforts to reach out to the world and rebuild the struggling economy.

Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate cleric who spearheaded a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, took 23,5 million votes — 57 percent — compared to 15,8 million — 38,3 percent — for hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi.

But Iran’s efforts to open up to the world face a stark challenge from US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to tear up the nuclear deal and is currently visiting its bitter regional rival Saudi Arabia.

Iranians nonetheless flocked to the polls, with turnout hitting 73 percent.

Election organisers were forced to extend polling by several hours on Friday, as they struggled to adapt to a population explosion that has added 20 million names to the voting rolls in the past two decades.

“Already last night we had the feeling we were heading for a landslide, and it came true,” said Farid Dehdilani, an adviser for the Iranian Privatisation Organisation, who worked on Rouhani’s campaign.

“Our people reaffirmed their confidence in President Rouhani and their support for engagement with the world,” he added.

Raisi (56), had positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a much tougher line with the West.

But his revolutionary rhetoric and efforts to win over working class voters with promises of increased handouts gained limited traction.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch ally of Iran in the Syrian conflict on the side of the Damascus regime, was among the first leaders to congratulate Rouhani. — AFP.