Raisi: Rouhani Does Not Want to Hear the People's Voice

Ebrahim Raisi, Hassan Rouhani's rival in the twelfth presidential election, reacted to Rouhani's statements about the organized transportation of conservative supporters to rallies, stating that Rouhani does not want to hear the 'voice of the people.' According to the Tasnim news agency, Mr. Raisi said on Tuesday, May 16, in a gathering of his supporters in Bushehr that Rouhani 'ignores the massive gatherings across the country.' He added that 'some people did not want to hear the voice of the people, and when they do, it is too late.' On the same day, Hassan Rouhani, addressing a group of his supporters in Zanjan, reiterated that Raisi's supporters are organized and brought to his campaign rally by 'bus.' Rouhani also implicitly referred to the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij as Raisi's supporters in this election, stating that they provide 'rich food' in military barracks to support him. Some websites and channels of Ebrahim Raisi and conservatives reacted to Rouhani's statements by publishing images from some of his campaign rallies in various cities, claiming that supporters of the current president were also brought to these gatherings by 'bus.' With less than 48 hours remaining until the official end of the presidential candidates' campaigns, the volume of activities and counter-attacks between the supporters of Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi has increased. Revelations and the publication of documents, many of which have not been verified, have been among the actions of electoral rivals in cyberspace, which began weeks ago and have intensified in recent days. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, also reported on Tuesday the 'arrest of some individuals' due to the 'theft of some organizational documents' at the request of 'one of the electoral headquarters.' The day before, Ebrahim Raisi, addressing his supporters in Isfahan, told Hassan Rouhani, 'You know my heart is a treasure chest of secrets, and if I speak, no one can compete with me.' The verbal tensions between these two candidates in the twelfth presidential election are being followed more intensely in the channels and websites supporting each candidate, leading to the filtering of several of them by the judiciary. Alireza Savari, the director of situational prevention at the judiciary, announced on Tuesday that 'despite the warnings given, some violating websites and channels have been filtered.' According to Mr. Savari, 'Any activity that could lead to violations has been prevented, and several websites, blogs, Telegram channels, and virtual networks have been warned.'