Rivals Congratulate Raisi on Sweeping Win in Iran’s Presidential Election

By Staff, Agencies

The three candidates in Iran’s 2021 presidential election were quick to offer congratulations to Sayyed Ebrahim Raeisi on his sweeping victory in the four-man race.

In separate messages issued prior to the release of the preliminary results on Saturday, Sayyed Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, Abdolnasser Hemmati, and Mohsen Rezaei conceded defeat and wished fellow candidate Raisi success in his four-year term.

In a tweet, Rezaei congratulated Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian nation and the president-elect on the “epic turnout” in the Friday election.

“God willing, the definitive election of my dear brother Ayatollah Dr. Sayyed Ebrahim Raeisi will herald the establishment of a powerful, popular administration to resolve the country’s problems,” he said.

Abdolnasser Hemmati, the only Reformist candidate in the election, also took to his Instagram page to offer felicitations to Raisi.

In his post, Hemmati said, “The proud and noble Iranian people rightly expect to live lives filled with hope, peace, and prosperity,” expressing hope that his incoming administration will act on the domestic and international fronts to improve the livelihoods of the Iranians under the leadership of Imam Khamenei.

For his part, Ghazizadeh-Hashemi hailed the nation’s passionate turnout in the election, despite the coronavirus outbreak, their complaints about the current administration’s performance, and the propaganda campaign launched by foreign media.

He congratulated Imam Khamenei on the “epic” election turnout and wished the president-elect success, while backing the people’s vote.