TEHRAN: On the eve of Iran's presidential election, expected to hand victory to the ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, the candidate-vetting Guardian Council insisted Thursday (Jun 17) that "the political contest is serious".

"The media and the people have testified that this is a good competition," said the head of the 12-member council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaee, a day before almost 60 million voters are asked to head to the ballots.