Supporters of the two leading candidates in Iran’s presidential election took to the streets as official campaigning came to an end.

But despite festive scenes ahead of Friday’s vote, there has been tension between the moderate and reformist forces and hardline fundamentalists with fiery exchanges.

It has turned into a tight race between incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, described as a pragmatist, and the hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi.

One young woman in Tehran told Euronews: “We’ve gone forward with hope and we think moderation is the best thing.

“We want it to happen. We want our candidate to win. We want to have hope.”

One young man said: “I’m holding both photos (Rouhani and Raisi) to say we’re all Iranians, that unity matters and no matter who we choose the important thing is to vote and choose by logic.”

As the campaigning came to an end there was an intervention by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday.

He slammed the heated tone of the election campaign, describing it as “unworthy”.

Some observers read that as a thinly veiled attack on President Rouhani and his attacks on Raisi. </s> Tehran, May 19, 2017: Ebrahim Raisi, the leading rival to President Hassan Rouhani in Friday's presidential election, is a hardline judge with close ties to the supreme leader who spent years in powerful backroom positions. Born into a religious family in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Mashhad on August 23, 1960, Raisi wears the black turban of a "seyed" whose genealogy is said to lead back to Prophet Mohammed.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Egypt Today. </s> DUBAI: Millions of Iranians joined long queues to vote on Friday, an early sign of strong turnout in an unexpectedly tight presidential election that could determine the future of the country's nascent emergence from international isolation.

The presidential vote pits incumbent Hassan Rouhani, who wants to normalise ties with the West, against a hardline judge who says Rouhani has gone too far and sold out the values of Iran's Islamic revolution to its enemies.

Rouhani, who struck a deal with world powers two years ago to curb Iran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of most economic sanctions, said the election was important "for Iran's future role in the region and the world".

"Whoever wins the election, we should help him to fulfil this important and serious duty," state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying after voting.

Rouhani, 68, who swept into office four years ago promising to open Iran to the world and give its citizens more freedom at home, faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Raisi has blamed Rouhani for mismanaging the economy and has travelled to poor areas holding rallies, pledging more welfare benefits and jobs.

He is believed to have the backing of the powerful Revolutionary Guards security force, as well as the tacit support of Khamenei, whose powers outrank those of the elected president but who normally steers clear of day-to-day politics.

"I respect the outcome of the vote of the people and the result will be respected by me and all the people," Raisi said after voting, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

In the last election, Rouhani won more than three times as many votes as his closest challenger. But this time the outcome promises to be much closer, as other conservative rivals have backed out and thrown their support behind Raisi.

The Guards and other hardliners hope that a win for Raisi, 56, will give them an opportunity to safeguard economic and political power they see as jeopardised by the lifting of sanctions and opening to foreign investment.

During weeks of campaigning the two main candidates exchanged accusations of graft and brutality in unprecedentedly hostile television debates. Both deny the other's accusations.

Some 350,000 members of the security forces were deployed around the country to protect the election, state television reported. The interior ministry said at mid-day that it had no reports of electoral offences so far, state television reported.

Rouhani has urged the Guards not to meddle in the vote, a warning that reflects the political tension. Suspicions that the Guards and the Basij militia under their control falsified voting results in favour of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to eight months of nationwide protests in 2009, which were violently suppressed.

For ordinary Iranians, the election presents a stark choice between competing visions of the country.

Rouhani, known for decades as a mild-mannered establishment insider rather than a gung-ho reformer, has taken on the mantle of the reform camp in recent weeks, with fiery campaign speeches that attacked the human rights records of his opponents.

Many pro-reform voters are still lukewarm Rouhani supporters, disappointed with the slow pace of change during his first term. But they are anxious to keep out Raisi, who they see as representing the security state at its most fearsome: in the 1980s he was one of four judges who sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death.

"I am on my way to vote for Rouhani. I like his detente policy with the world. I know he is not a reformist, but who cares? What matters is that he is not Raisi," government employee Yousef Ghaemi, 43, said by phone in the western city of Kermanshah.

For conservatives, the election represents a chance to restore the values of the 1979 revolution, which requires elected officials to be subordinate to the Shi'ite Muslim clergy and supreme leader.

"I cast my vote already - I voted for Raisi because he is a follower of Imam Khamenei. He will not confront the leader if elected. He will protect our Islamic identity," said Mehran Fardoust, 36, a shop keeper near the Imam Reza Shrine in the holy city of Mashhad, Raisi's home town.

In public, Khamenei has remained neutral, repeatedly calling for a high turnout. But Iranians in both political camps suspect he is in fact backing his protege Raisi - not only for the presidency but potentially also as a possible successor to his own post of supreme leader, which the 77-year-old hardline cleric has held since 1989.

Despite the removal of nuclear-related sanctions in 2016, lingering unilateral U.S. sanctions that target Iran's record on human rights and terrorism have kept foreign companies wary of investing in Iran, limiting the economic benefits so far.

Raisi has focused his campaign on the economy, visiting rural areas and villages and promising housing, jobs and more welfare benefits, a message which could resonate with millions of poor voters angry at the Tehran elite.

Two other conservative candidates are still officially in the race. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two, presumably Rouhani and Raisi, would face each other a second time in a run-off in a week.

Polls close at 6 p.m. (1330 GMT), although authorities often extend voting into the evening. Ballot counting will start at midnight and final results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, TV reported. The elections are also for city and village councils. </s> Millions of Iranians joined long queues to vote on Friday, an early sign of strong turnout in an unexpectedly tight presidential election that could determine the future of the country’s nascent emergence from international isolation.

The presidential vote pits incumbent Hassan Rouhani, who wants to normalize ties with the West, against a hardline judge who says Rouhani has gone too far and sold out the values of Iran’s Islamic revolution to its enemies.

Rouhani, who struck a deal with world powers two years ago to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of most economic sanctions, said the election was important “for Iran’s future role in the region and the world.”

“Whoever wins the election, we should help him to fulfill this important and serious duty,” state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying after voting.

Rouhani, 68, who swept into office four years ago promising to open Iran to the world and give its citizens more freedom at home, faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Raisi has blamed Rouhani for mismanaging the economy and has traveled to poor areas holding rallies, pledging more welfare benefits and jobs.

He is believed to have the backing of the powerful Revolutionary Guards security force, as well as the tacit support of Khamenei, whose powers outrank those of the elected president but who normally steers clear of day-to-day politics.

“I respect the outcome of the vote of the people and the result will be respected by me and all the people,” Raisi said after voting, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

In the last election, Rouhani won more than three times as many votes as his closest challenger. But this time the outcome promises to be much closer, as other conservative rivals have backed out and thrown their support behind Raisi.

The Guards and other hardliners hope that a win for Raisi, 56, will give them an opportunity to safeguard economic and political power they see as jeopardized by the lifting of sanctions and opening to foreign investment.

During weeks of campaigning the two main candidates exchanged accusations of graft and brutality in unprecedentedly hostile television debates. Both deny the other’s accusations.

Some 350,000 members of the security forces were deployed around the country to protect the election, state television reported. The interior ministry said at mid-day that it had no reports of electoral offenses so far, state television reported.

Rouhani has urged the Guards not to meddle in the vote, a warning that reflects the political tension. Suspicions that the Guards and the Basij militia under their control falsified voting results in favor of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to eight months of nationwide protests in 2009, which were violently suppressed.

For ordinary Iranians, the election presents a stark choice between competing visions of the country.

Rouhani, known for decades as a mild-mannered establishment insider rather than a gung-ho reformer, has taken on the mantle of the reform camp in recent weeks, with fiery campaign speeches that attacked the human rights records of his opponents.

Many pro-reform voters are still lukewarm Rouhani supporters, disappointed with the slow pace of change during his first term. But they are anxious to keep out Raisi, who they see as representing the security state at its most fearsome: in the 1980s he was one of four judges who sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death.

“I am on my way to vote for Rouhani. I like his detente policy with the world. I know he is not a reformist, but who cares? What matters is that he is not Raisi,” government employee Yousef Ghaemi, 43, said by phone in the western city of Kermanshah.

For conservatives, the election represents a chance to restore the values of the 1979 revolution, which requires elected officials to be subordinate to the Shi’ite Muslim clergy and supreme leader.

“I cast my vote already - I voted for Raisi because he is a follower of Imam Khamenei. He will not confront the leader if elected. He will protect our Islamic identity,” said Mehran Fardoust, 36, a shop keeper near the Imam Reza Shrine in the holy city of Mashhad, Raisi’s home town.

In public, Khamenei has remained neutral, repeatedly calling for a high turnout. But Iranians in both political camps suspect he is in fact backing his protege Raisi -- not only for the presidency but potentially also as a possible successor to his own post of supreme leader, which the 77-year-old hardline cleric has held since 1989.

Despite the removal of nuclear-related sanctions in 2016, lingering unilateral U.S. sanctions that target Iran’s record on human rights and terrorism have kept foreign companies wary of investing in Iran, limiting the economic benefits so far.

Raisi has focused his campaign on the economy, visiting rural areas and villages and promising housing, jobs and more welfare benefits, a message which could resonate with millions of poor voters angry at the Tehran elite.

Two other conservative candidates are still officially in the race. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two, presumably Rouhani and Raisi, would face each other a second time in a run-off in a week.

Polls close at 6 p.m. (1330 GMT), although authorities often extend voting into the evening. Ballot counting will start at midnight and final results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, TV reported. The elections are also for city and village councils. </s> TEHRAN - Polling was extended in Iran on Friday as voters flocked to deliver their verdict on President Hassan Rouhani and his troubled efforts to rebuild ties with the world and kickstart the struggling economy.

Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate cleric who spearheaded a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, has framed the vote as a choice between greater civil liberties and "extremism".

But he faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a much tougher line with the West.

With long queues still seen at polling stations, authorities extended the vote into the late evening, with reformist backers of the president urging voters to keep waiting or find quieter stations.

"The enthusiastic participation of Iranians in the election reinforces our national power and security," said Rouhani as he cast his vote in Tehran.

By 2000 (1530 GMT), local agencies reported 30 million - more than half of registered voters - had cast their ballot. But Raisi's campaign was already complaining about the conduct of the election even before polls closed, saying there had been hundreds of "propaganda actions" by Rouhani supporters at voting booths, which are banned under election laws.

Raisi has targeted working-class voters hit by high unemployment and austerity measures, as well as those who worry that the values of the 1979 revolution are under threat. "His main focus is deprived people and he wants to fight corruption," said Mohsen, a 32-year-old Raisi supporter.

"Our country is surrounded by enemies -- if we don't strengthen our domestic situation, we will be harmed."

Rouhani's central achievement was a deal with six powers led by the United States that eased crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear programme -- efforts which he said must be protected from hardliners. "One wrong decision by the president can mean war," he warned this week.

His opponent says he will stick by the nuclear deal, but points to a persistent economic slump as evidence Rouhani's diplomatic efforts have failed.

"Instead of using the capable hands of our young people to resolve problems, they are putting our economy in the hands of foreigners," Raisi said at a closing campaign rally in second city Mashhad.

Rouhani gained a reprieve on Wednesday when Washington agreed to continue waiving nuclear-related sanctions, keeping the deal on track for now.

But US President Donald Trump has launched a 90-day review of the accord that could see it abandoned, and is visiting Iran's bitter regional rival Saudi Arabia this weekend.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voted at his compound just minutes after polls opened, saying: "The destiny of the country is in the hands of Iranians." Reformists and many celebrities in the nation of 80 million have backed Rouhani.

Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi, a vocal Rouhani supporter, voted in Cannes, France where he was attending the film festival. "I want social justice, social freedoms and political development, and good relations with all countries in the world," said Rouhani supporter Nasim, a 37-year-old university lecturer.

Despite the global implications, it is the economy that has dominated the campaign.

Rouhani has brought inflation down from around 40 percent when he took office in 2013, but prices are still rising by nine percent a year.

Oil sales have rebounded since the nuclear deal took effect in January last year, but growth in the rest of the economy has been limited, leaving unemployment at 12.5 percent overall, and at almost 30 percent for young people.

Still, many appear willing to give his policies time to bear fruit, and hope Rouhani can lift the remaining US sanctions that are stifling trade.

"I've almost lost my entire business in recent years. Our small importers can't afford to bypass sanctions and it's illegal," said first-time voter Amir Fathollahzadeh, 51.

"I'm voting for Rouhani to try to save my dignity."

Meanwhile, Raisi has promised to triple cash handouts to the poor, hoping to pick up voters who once supported Rouhani's populist predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Unfortunately in recent years the dialogue of revolution has been weakened. People should restore the revolution's path," said Raisi supporter Mahanz Rafii, 50, a theology professor wearing her head-to-toe chador robes.

Having proved too independent for the conservative establishment, Ahmadinejad was dramatically barred from standing by the Guardian Council last month as it disqualified all but six of the 1,636 hopefuls who registered.

The presidential race has since narrowed to a two-horse race as other candidates either pulled out or backed Rouhani or Raisi. Iranians are also voting for local councils, with reformists hoping to overturn the conservatives' narrow majority in the capital. </s> First vote since landmark nuclear deal is seen as a tight race between President Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi.

Iranians have begun voting in a closely-fought presidential election that could determine Iran's pace of social and economic reform and its re-engagement with the world.

Friday's poll is expected to be a two-horse race between reformist President Hassan Rouhani and conservative challenger Ebrahim Raisi. Two other candidates are also on the ballot - conservative Mostafa Mirsalim and reformist Mostafa Hashemitaba - though they are not expected to win more than a few percent of the vote.

State television showed long queues outside voting stations in several cities, shortly after polls opened at 03:30GMT. Some 56 million people are eligible to vote.

"Everyone should vote in this important election ... vote at early hours," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after casting his ballot in the capital, Tehran.

"The country's fate is determined by the people," he added.

Polls close at 13:30GMT, although authorities often extend voting into the evening.

Ballot counting will start at midnight and final results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, the semi-official Fars news agency said. The elections are also for city and village councils.

READ MORE: Iran's 2017 elections - The 8 most important questions

The election is seen by many as a verdict on Rouhani's policy of opening up Iran to the world and his efforts to rebuild its stagnant economy.

Having been elected in a landslide four years ago on a promise to reduce the country's international isolation, Rouhani negotiated a historic deal with world powers in 2015 to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

But the president faces strong competition from Raisi who has made grounds by positioning himself as a defender of the poor and calling for a much tougher line with the West.

"The election boils down to whether Rouhani is allowed a second term to finish what he began, or potentially Iran taking a different turn and standing up to the outside world," Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Tehran, said.

Rouhani has sought to frame the election as a choice between greater civil liberties and "extremism". 

 

 He pushed boundaries during the campaign, criticising the continued arrest of reformist leaders and activists, and calling on security agencies to not interfere in the vote. 

 

 Raisi has said he will stick by the nuclear deal with world powers but pointed to the continued economic slump as proof that Rouhani's diplomatic efforts have failed. 

 

 "Instead of using the capable hands of our youths to resolve problems, they are putting our economy in the hands of foreigners," Raisi said at a final rally in the city of Mashhad on Wednesday. 

 

 Rouhani responded by calling on voters to keep hardliners away from Iran's delicate diplomatic levers. 

 

 "One wrong decision by the president can mean war and a correct decision can mean peace," he said at his own Mashhad rally.

The election comes at a tense moment in Iran's relations with the United States. US President Donald Trump has previously said that he would "rip up" the nuclear deal. 

 

 On Wednesday, Rouhani gained what is seen as a reprieve when the Trump administration agreed to continue waiving nuclear-related sanctions, keeping the agreement on track for now. 

 

 Yet, Trump, who is visiting Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia this weekend, launched a 90-day review of the accord that could still see it abandoned.

Rouhani has vowed to work towards removing the remaining non-nuclear sanctions, but critics argue that will be hard with Trump in power.

While the nuclear deal has been at the forefront of the election, the issues of poverty and unemployment have dominated the campaign.

Rouhani has brought inflation down from around 40 percent when he took over in 2013, but prices are still rising by nine percent a year.

Oil sales have rebounded since the nuclear deal took effect in January 2016, but growth in the rest of the economy has been limited, leaving unemployment at 12.5 percent overall - close to 30 percent for the young - and many more are under-employed or struggling to get by.

Rouhani's opponents have criticised him over his economic record, saying his diplomatic efforts have done little to tackle unemployment and poverty.

Raisi has tried to gain support by promising more financial support to the working class and to triple cash handouts to the poor.

"[Raisi] is thinking about the people, simple people; he's thinking about poor people," one of his supporters told Al Jazeera.

But for others, Rouhani is the best candidate to tackle the country's key issues.

"We demand, as we have before, that the problem of youth unemployment be solved … I think Rouhani is the best choice and with anyone other than him I think our conditions would deteriorate," a young voter told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: How Iran views its role in the Middle East

Nasser Hadian, a professor at the University of Tehran, said the election was about more than just the economy.

"For a number of people, for an important section of society ... it is about respect, it is about human rights, it is about security and stability." </s> The report says President Hassan Rouhani has an unbeatable lead in Iran’s presidential election and is set to defeat his hardline rival Ebrahim Raisi. Photo: AFP

Dubai/Beirut: President Hassan Rouhani has an unbeatable lead in Iran’s presidential election, an Iranian official source told Reuters on Saturday, citing an early unofficial tally, and is set to defeat his hardline rival Ebrahim Raisi and win a second term.

In a briefing for reporters, interior ministry official Ali Asghar Ahmadi outlined a similar proportion of votes received.

“It’s over, Rouhani is the winner,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

The pragmatist Rouhani won 21.6 million votes in Friday’s hard-fought contest, compared to 14 million for Raisi, with 37 million votes counted, the source said, adding about four million more votes were still to be tallied.

The interior ministry official said that with 25 million ballots certified by the authorities so far, Rouhani won 14.619 million and Raisi gained 10.125 million.

He said 40 million votes had been cast, indicating a turnout of about 70%, roughly similar to the showing in 2013 elections when Rouhani swept into office in a landslide victory

Ahmadi said final results would be announced later on Saturday.

The big turnout appeared to have favoured Rouhani, whose backers’ main worry has been apathy among reformist-leaning voters disappointed with the slow pace of change.

Rouhani, 68, who took office promising to open Iran to the world and give its citizens more freedom at home, faced an unexpectedly strong challenge from Raisi, a protege of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The election is important “for Iran’s future role in the region and the world”, Rouhani, who struck a deal with world powers two years ago to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of most economic sanctions, said after voting.

Raisi, 56, has accused Rouhani of mismanaging the economy and has travelled to poor areas, speaking at rallies pledging more welfare benefits and jobs.

He is believed to have the backing of the powerful Revolutionary Guards security force, as well as the tacit support of Khamenei, whose powers outrank those of the elected president but who normally steers clear of day-to-day politics.

“I respect the outcome of the vote of the people and the result will be respected by me and all the people,” Raisi said after voting, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

However, Raisi later appeared at the Ministry of Interior in Tehran on Friday and complained of a shortage of ballot sheets at many polling stations, according to Fars. More ballot sheets were subsequently sent out, the agency reported.

The Guards and other hardliners had hoped that a win for Raisi would have given them an opportunity to safeguard economic and political power they see as jeopardised by the lifting of sanctions and opening of the country to foreign investment.

During weeks of campaigning, the two main candidates exchanged accusations of corruption and brutality in unprecedentedly hostile television debates. Both deny the other’s accusations.

Rouhani has urged the Guards not to meddle in the vote, a warning that reflects the political tension. Suspicions that the Guards and the Basij militia under their control falsified voting results in favour of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led to eight months of nationwide protests in 2009, which were violently suppressed.

For ordinary Iranians, the election presents a stark choice between competing visions of the country.

Rouhani, known for decades as a mild-mannered establishment insider rather than a gung-ho reformer, has taken on the mantle of the reform camp in recent weeks, with fiery campaign speeches that attacked the human rights records of his opponents.

“I voted for Rouhani to prevent Raisi’s victory. I don’t want a hardliner to be my president,” said Ziba Ghomeyshi in Tehran. “I waited in the line for five hours to cast my vote.”

Many pro-reform voters are still lukewarm Rouhani supporters, disappointed with his failure to make broader changes during his first term. But they were anxious to keep out Raisi, who they see as representing the security state at its most fearsome: in the 1980s he was one of four judges who sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death.

“I like his (Rouhani) detente policy with the world. I know he is not a reformist, but who cares? What matters is that he is not Raisi,” employee Yousef Ghaemi, 43, said by phone in the western city of Kermanshah.

For conservatives, the election represented a chance to restore the values of the 1979 revolution, which requires elected officials to be subordinate to the Shi’ite Muslim clergy and supreme leader.

“I voted for Raisi because he is a follower of Imam Khamenei. He will not confront the leader if elected. He will protect our Islamic identity,” said Mehran Fardoust, 36, a shopkeeper near the Imam Reza Shrine in the holy city of Mashhad, Raisi’s home town.

Despite the removal of nuclear-related sanctions in 2016, lingering unilateral US sanctions that target Iran’s record on human rights and terrorism have kept foreign companies wary of investing, limiting the economic benefits so far.

Raisi has focused his campaign on the economy, visiting rural areas and villages and promising housing, jobs and more welfare benefits, a message which could have resonated with millions of poor voters angry at the Tehran elite. Reuters </s> President Hassan Rouhani was leading in Iran’s election with more than half of votes counted on Saturday, the head of the election committee announced.

Out of 25.9 million votes counted, Rouhani had 14.6 million and his hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi 10.1 million, said Ali Asghar Ahmadi on state television.

A huge turnout on Friday — estimated at more than 40 million out of 56 million registered voters — led to the vote being extended by several hours to deal with long queues.

Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate cleric who spearheaded a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, has framed the vote as a choice between greater civil liberties and “extremism”.

But he has faced stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a much tougher line with the West.

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Also, Like us on facebook </s> Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s moderate president who is seeking re-election, faces a boisterous race after heavyweight conservative figures critical of his landmark nuclear agreement with the west put themselves up to challenge him.

Registration for candidates in Iran’s presidential elections next month ended on Saturday, with a record number of 1,636 people putting their names on the list, including 137 women. On Friday, Rouhani took his ID card, a few passport-sized photos and other paperwork to the interior ministry in Tehran’s Fatemi Street to register to run for a second term. His four predecessors have all served two conservative terms.

Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose bid for presidency has upended the race, also registered on Friday. The former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, are among a handful of other serious candidates running.

The list of presidential hopefuls has been sent to the guardian council, a powerful body of jurists and clerics, which began a five-day vetting process on Sunday. A limited number of candidates are usually allowed through. Critics say the council has arbitrarily blocked many high-profile politicians in recent years, going beyond its constitutional responsibilities.

This year, all eyes are on the council to see if it will approve Ahmadinejad, who registered despite advice by Khamenei not to. The campaign period starts on 28 April and ends one day before the vote, which is scheduled for 19 May.

Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews, said Raisi’s surprising decision to run has been “the fly in the ointment” in what could have been a relatively straightforward, albeit challenging, race for Rouhani to win a second term. Raisi’s rise to prominence over the past year has intrigued many commentators who speculate that he is being touted as a frontrunner to succeed Khamenei, a higher position than that of the president.

“I think definitely it has complicated the race,” Ansari said. “I think the fact that Raisi is coming, unless he steps aside, it looks very unlikely to me that the nezam [ruling system] would allow Raisi to be humiliated in an election. He hasn’t come to lose. He is an up-and-coming player in the system and in the last six months he’s basically come from nowhere.”

There are also concerns about Rouhani’s possible disqualification. That explains why his first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, a figure close to the reformists, also registered to run on Saturday. “I’m here to supplement Rouhani,” he said, meaning that his bid for the presidency was tactical and that he would drop out if Rouhani is allowed to run.

“Rouhani is not in as strong a position as we think he is, because he delivered the JCPOA [nuclear deal]. JCPOA in Iran is not seen as a giant triumph, and for me the problem for me is the way Rouhani sold it,” Ansari said. 



“He has stablised the economy, but I think he made a number of very exaggerated claims, and he is now paying the price in the popular mood. But in an open election I think people would vote for Rouhani . Rouhani is the best of a bad choice, but at the same time I don’t think he’s as clear a winner as some people in the west would like to think.”

Although women have registered, all female nominees have previously been blocked from running. Azam Talaghani, a former MP and the daughter of a prominent revolutionary ayatollah, is among the women who have put their names on the list to test whether the authorities would allow women to run.
Official campaigning ends with opinion polling showing Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi as the two leading candidates.