Politics
15:10, 18-Jul-2017
Iranian President Rouhani enters second term with more political capital
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won a second term in office in May of this year, doing so with a bigger mandate that should translate to more political capital.
He won his second term in a landslide with 58 percent of the vote compared to just over half of votes he received during his 2013 election. Rouhani struggled to bring social reforms to revive the country's economy by opening up to the outside world. But he earned the support of young voters by condemning conservatives that he said wanted to stifle free speech.
The Iranian president is expected to take a stronger stance on political change during his second term. At his last rally in the city of Mashad, Rouhani said he plans to rein in the country's Revolutionary Guard. Rouhani has also been hesitant to support Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.