Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami expressed support for Hasan Rouhani in the May 19 presidential election.

Rouhani's election for a second term will benefit Iran and the Iranian nation, Khatami said at a meeting with reformist politicians, the official website of the ex-president said.

"If President Rouhani loses the upcoming presidential election to his conservative rivals, there is a risk of renewal of international sanctions against Iran and isolation of the country," Khatami said.

Meanwhile, a group of Iranian hardliners, Islamic Revolutionary Stability, declared its support for the conservative cleric Ebrahim Raeesi in the elections, the Tasnim news agency reported.

The two main rivals in the race are widely expected to be President Hassan Rouhani, and Ebrahim Raeesi.

Rouhani remains popular for stabilizing the economy and ending sanctions through a nuclear deal with world powers. After lifting the sanctions, Rouhani visited a number of European states and made deals that worth billions of dollars. European companies started looking for investment opportunities in the growing Iranian market.

Raeesi, who is a close ally of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would rely on his past record in high government posts and his managerial skills to win votes.

The voting date for the 12th presidential and 5th city and council elections is May 19.

To win, the candidate must score more than 50 percent of the vote. If none of the applicants succeeds in enlisting the support of such a number of voters, a second round of voting will be held, in which two leaders of the first round will participate.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz