Observers See Low Iranian Election Turnout as Disavowal of Leadership

CAIRO - Iran's interior minister on Saturday declared judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi the winner of the nation's presidential election, saying he'd drawn 17 million of the 28 million votes cast.

The interior minister, Abdel Reda Rahmani Fazli, said 48% of Iran's 59 million eligible voters participated in Friday's election. Raisi, a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is due to take office in August. Regional governments reacted with little surprise to his victory, and it was unclear if the winner would be able to improve relations with Iran's Arab neighbors.  A number of Iranian political leaders had called on the Iranian people to boycott the election, among them former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and People's Mujahedeen leader Miriam Rajavi.