Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voted on Friday in a presidential election likely to be won by his close ally Ebrahim Raisi, a judge fiercely loyal to the religious establishment.
Large numbers of Iranians are expected to ignore the vote due to discontent with economic hardship, hardline rule and anger over the disqualification of prominent moderates.
After placing his votes in the balllot boxes Khamenei said election day was a “day of the Iranian nation”.
With uncertainty surrounding Iran’s efforts to revive its 2015 nuclear deal, and growing poverty at home after years of U.S. sanctions, voter turnout is seen by analysts as a referendum on the leadership’s handing of an array of crises.
