Iranians vote for president

Iranians cast their ballots today in the country’s presidential election. The race pitted two Shiite Muslim clerics against one another: incumbent Hassan Rouhani, 68, a moderate reformist who has opened the country and relaxed controls the last four years, and Ebrahim Raisi, 56, a religiously conservative hardliner. Rouhani’s supporters, often more liberal and affluent, like his handling of the nuclear deal and worry Raisi could bring a crackdown on civil liberties and a hostile stance against the West. Raisi’s supporters, many conservative, rural, and working-class Iranians, like his anticorruption rhetoric and promises to end inequality. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast the first vote this morning, calling on over 56 million eligible voters to cast their ballots. Due to high turnout, voting was extended five hours to 11 p.m. today, with counting expected to start at midnight. No incumbent president has failed to win reelection in Iran since 1981.