Press
The final result of the presidential election in Iran is eagerly awaited. Can the reformer Peseschkian maintain his lead against hardliner Jalili?
Tehran – The moderate Massoud Peseschkian is narrowly ahead in the presidential election in Iran. After the counting of a good 80 percent of the polling stations, the politician from the reform camp was just ahead of the hardliner Said Jalili with around 12.7 million votes, as the spokesman for the election authority announced on state television on Saturday. The ultra-conservative challenger therefore received 10.4 million votes.
Around 61 million people were called to vote between Peseshkian and Jalili on Friday. The early election was called after the death of incumbent Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May. The polling stations were open until late in the evening after several extensions by the Interior Ministry.
The so-called Guardian Council, a powerful Islamic control body, had only approved six of the 80 applicants. Two of them withdrew before the first vote. Unlike in many other countries, the president in Iran is not the head of state. The real power is concentrated in the religious leader Khamenei.
Reform candidate against hardliner
The reform candidate Peseschkian is 69 years old and comes from northwest Iran. During the election campaign, the previously rather inconspicuous politician campaigned for new trust between the government and the people, who are immensely disappointed with politics after failed reform attempts, political repression and an economic crisis. Like many politicians from the reform camp, he called for an improvement in relations with the West.
Jalili was a member of the inner circle of power early on and worked in the office of the religious leader. Under the controversial former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Jalili was chief negotiator in the nuclear negotiations. The hardliner enjoys broad support from radical and loyal system supporters. He is considered an iron advocate of the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Little election mood, much frustration
In the first round last Friday, voter turnout reached a record low of around 40 percent, according to official data. This reflects the great disappointment, especially among the younger generation, who have lost faith in major domestic political changes. The death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Masa Amini in the fall of 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule.
A week ago, Peseschkian received around 10.4 million votes (around 42.5 percent), while Jalili received 9.4 million votes (38.7 percent). Around 3.4 million people voted for the conservative third-place candidate, Parliament President Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. He then expressed his support for Jalili. This gave the conservative camp a slight advantage. Reform candidate Peseschkian would have to convince non-voters in particular to win.
Iran’s political system has combined republican and theocratic elements since the 1979 revolution. However, there are no free elections: the Guardian Council always checks candidates for their ideological suitability. Fundamental criticism of the system is not tolerated, as the suppression of protests in recent years has shown. dpa
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