Iranians vote against hardliners; want more social freedoms – PB/TK
Iranians Vote to Reelect President Rouhani, Reject Hardliner Raisi – By Ali Arouzi / May 20 2017
TEHRAN — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani won reelection in a landslide Saturday, decisively defeating his hardline opponent Ebrahim Raisi.
State television congratulated the moderate cleric, who led with 58.6 percent of the vote. That compared with 39.8 percent for his main challenger Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative judge who was widely backed by religious conservatives and supports a strict enforcement of Shariah law.
Rouhani has slowly expanded social freedoms since taking office in 2013, and actively courted the support of young, urban and female voters.
Early in the campaign, the 68-year-old incumbent posted a photo on Instagram showing himself out on a snowy hike, stopping to pose for a photo with two young women — both of whom had their hijabs, or headscarfs, pushed much further back then would be considered proper by hardliners.
Continue to nbcnews.com article: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iranians-vote-reelect-president-rouhani-reject-hardliner-raisi-n762526
