Iranians voting to elect new PresidentJune 18, 2021 - 14:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iranians are voting in a presidential election in which the ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi is seen as all but certain to coast to victory, after all serious rivals were barred from running, The Guardian reports. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cast the first vote in Tehran and then urged Iran’s nearly 60 million eligible voters to follow suit before the scheduled close of polls at midnight. “The sooner you perform this task and duty, the better,” the 81-year-old Khamenei said, stressing that voting “serves to build the future” of the Iranian people. But enthusiasm has been dampened by the disqualification of many hopefuls from the race and the deep economic malaise which has sparked spiraling inflation and job losses, the crisis deepened by the Covid pandemic. Iran has often pointed to voter participation for democratic legitimacy – but polls signal the turnout may drop below the 43% of last year’s parliamentary election. Results are expected around noon on Saturday. If no clear winner emerges, a runoff will be held a week later. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |