Iran alleges ‘misinformation campaign’ against president-elect Ebrahim Raisi

New Delhi [India], June 20 (ANI): Iran has alleged that “a few hostile forces” are waging a disinformation campaign against its President-elect Dr Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, aiming to “manipulate public opinion” against him.

In a press release titled “An Introduction to Ayatollah Dr. Ebrahim Racisi”, the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi said that neither grievances about the economic situation, nor concerns for the threat of pandemic could overcome Iran’s determination and impede its participation in the presidential polls.

“However, in the wake of Ayatollah Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi winning the June 18 Presidential elections with a landslide victory, while most political leaders and groups praised his election to this prominent post and congratulated the Iranian leadership and people, there were few hostile forces which engaged in waging misinformation campaigns in some media in order to manipulate the public opinion in respect of Iran’s new President, which might otherwise not be known to the general public outside Iran,” the statement said.

On Sunday, the Iranian interior ministry announced that ultraconservative cleric and judiciary chief Raisi has been elected Iran’s eighth president.

Explaining the popularity of Ayatollah Raeisi, the statement said, “He was the voice of the poor, oppressed and disadvantaged during the Islamic revolution and after the revolution took up posts, especially in the judiciary, to fight against corruption and injustice in the society which are the core values of the Islamic Revolution.”

“Dr. Raisi’s genius and diligence was behind his breakthroughs in academics and his career. This, coupled with his management charisma, made one of the most successful judiciary chiefs in contemporary Iranian history.”

Raisi will take office in early August, replacing President Hassan Rouhani who was not allowed by the constitution to run for a third consecutive term.

The ministry confirmed on Saturday that Raisi won 61.95 per cent of the vote on a voter turnout of 48.8 per cent – the lowest turnout for a presidential election since the 1979 revolution.

Raisi got 28,933,004 votes, while former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei finished third with 3,412,712 votes and was followed by moderate candidate Abdolnasswer Hemmati with 2,427,201 votes, and conservative Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi with 999,718 votes. (ANI)