Raeisi sets mighty big goal of ‘ending corruption’ in Iran

Iran’s presidential candidate and current Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi says he will put an end to corruption and rent in the country, distinguishing his economic and political agenda in by far more unforgettable terms than his rivals.

Speaking live on state TV late on Wednesday (June 2), Raeisi, who has earned a reputation as a crusader against corruption in his capacity as chief justice, said prosecution at the Judiciary is the last resort.

“The Judiciary entering the fray is a last resort; and if the country’s laws are reformed, the judicial apparatus would not need to enter [at all]. Merely proceeding with legal cases and confronting wrongdoers will not eradicate corruption; the mechanisms need to be set right,” Raeisi said.

“Rent and corruption aggravate people, and we will end rent and corruption in the country,” he said.

Iran ranks 149^th on the Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries “by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.” New Zealand ranks 1^st, and Somalia appears at the bottom, ranking 179th.

Raeisi said state contracts need to be made transparent to everyone. “Everywhere in the world, only security matters are confidential. All other matters need be made known to the people.”

Raeisi ‘to form coalition government with manufacturers, entrepreneurs, workers’

Ebrahim Raeisi, the Iranian Judiciary chief, who is running for president, says he will form a “coalition government” with Iranian manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and workers, distinguishing his campaign with an explicitly economic and production-oriented agenda.

Iran is holding its 13th presidential election on June 18. Raeisi is running against six other candidates, including four fellow-Principlists. All of the candidates have so far been focusing on the economy, battered by sanctions and mismanagement in recent years. And nearly all of them have been attacking the economic policies of the President Hassan Rouhani administration. A recent governor of Iran’s Central Bank, Nasser Hemmati, is also running.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir