Iran held early presidential elections on Friday (28) following the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi without a clear favorite candidate and amid public discontent with the economic and social situation.
Some 58,000 polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and closed at midnight after three time extensions across the country, where 61 million people were eligible to vote, the Iranian Election Commission said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was the first to vote. “The continuity, strength, dignity and honor of the Islamic Republic before the world depend on the participation of the people,” said the country’s highest political and religious authority.
With no clear favorite among the four candidates, the pragmatist Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the radical Saeed Jalili and the reformist Masoud Pezeshkian emerged as candidates to succeed Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
The Guardian Council, the body that decides who can run, allowed a reformist to run – seeking some opening up of the country – unlike in 2021, which may have resulted in an increase in voter turnout. The results are expected to be announced this Saturday (29).
Polls point to a possible second round within a week, as no candidate appears with more than 50% of voting intentions.
The Iranian president has decision-making power over internal issues and, to a lesser extent, over foreign and security policy in Iran, where Khamenei serves as head of state with vast powers.
The likely top three are politicians with almost opposite views, who will have to deal with a very complex geopolitical moment, with the war in the Gaza Strip and tensions over Iran’s accelerated nuclear program.
Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old surgeon from the Azerbaijani minority and former health minister, started with low expectations but rose to prominence with a message of rapprochement with the West and criticism of the Islamic veil, which has been supported by the reformist bloc.
Opposing him is Qalibaf, 62, a former general in the Revolutionary Guards, former police chief, former mayor of Tehran and speaker of parliament, who has a reputation for being a good administrator and a “firm” leader.
#Iran #election #results #expected #announced #Saturday