Surprise! Iran ‘Elects’ Mass Murdering Cleric As President

PJM: Ebrahim Raisi, the fanatical head of Iran’s judiciary, was elected president in a landslide on Friday — at least, among those who voted.

Many Iranians did not. Less fanatical groups called for a boycott of the election and turnout was down compared to the last presidential election in 2017.

But the election of Raisi was a foregone conclusion. The all-powerful Guardian Council had disqualified any candidate that had the potential to challenge Raisi. Since the Guardian Council is hand-picked by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Raisi was obviously his choice all along.

Iran certainly has had some colorful characters as president. The urbane, but doomed, first president was Abolhassan Banisadr, who became a fixture on American television during the hostage crisis. Another character was Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president from 1989-97. He was reportedly one of the richest men in the world at the time, having stolen billions from the Iranian people.

But President Raisi is the most interesting. No other Iranian president has entered office under sanction by the United States. No other Iranian president has been accused of carrying out mass murder.

Amnesty International wants an official investigation of Raisi to determine his culpability in the extra-judicial executions of thousands of prisoners in the 1980s. more here