Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian and fundamentalist Saeed Jalili will contest the presidency of Iran in a second round. After the vote count, the elections were held on Friday (28), the Iranian Electoral Commission announced that neither candidate reached 50% of the votes in the first round.
Election Commission spokesman Mohsen Eslami announced at a press conference that, in accordance with Iranian law, the second round will be held on July 5 (next Friday).
This was the lowest voter turnout in Iran’s history, with only 40 percent of voters turning out, or about 24.5 million people. The low voter turnout is said to be a sign of the population’s discontent with the economic situation and the lack of individual freedoms.
Heart surgeon and former Minister of Health, Masoud Pezeshkian came out ahead in the first round, with 10.4 million votes, or 42.4% of the total. Saeed Jalili, the country’s former nuclear negotiator, came in second with 9.4 million votes, or 38.6%.
With an extensive political resume, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was the candidate considered the favorite in the presidential race, but came in 3rd place, with 3.3 million votes, or 13.79%. He is a former general of the Revolutionary Guards, former chief of police, former mayor of Tehran and president of Parliament and, although he is also from the radical wing, he is seen as being more pragmatic than Jalili.
Iranian presidential elections are being held to choose the successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May this year, along with seven other people.
According to the Iranian constitution, the president is the second highest authority, making decisions on domestic issues. To a lesser extent, he also influences Iran’s foreign and security policy.
His power, however, is limited by the clerics and the highest authority, Ali Khamenei, who acts as head of state with broad powers. Unlike the supreme leader, whose position is for life, the presidential term lasts four years.
Who are the candidates who will compete in the 2nd round?
Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, began the election campaign with low expectations, but gained greater relevance during the election campaign with a message of rapprochement with the West and criticism of the Islamic veil.
Their election slogan is “For Iran”, which evokes the title of the song that became the anthem of the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini – who died in police custody after being detained for allegedly wearing the headscarf incorrectly. The song’s author, Shervin Hajipour, was sentenced to almost four years in prison for writing it.
Pezeshkian received the support of former presidents Mohammed Khatami (1997-2005) and Hasan Rohani (2013-2021) from the reformist bloc – advocates of a more open position towards the West – after a moderate from the Azeri minority was not allowed to participate in the 2021 presidential election.
According to Pezeshkian, if elected, his government will be like a “third term” for Khatami, the first reformist president who gave a certain air of openness to Iran and with whom he entered politics in 2000 as health minister.
Jalili, 58, is at the other extreme, opposing the West and has been described as a “true product of the Islamic Revolution.” He previously served as an adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei. He is seen as the candidate of the status quowhich will follow the policies of former president Raisi, whose government increased repression.
Low turnout shows dissatisfaction with the country’s current leadership
The percentage of votes, 40% of the voting population, was below the previous presidential elections, in 2021, which registered 48%, and the parliamentary elections in March, when 41% voted.
The low turnout shows the level of popular discontent with the poor economic situation and the lack of freedoms, especially among young people. Khamenei’s repeated calls to vote “for the continuation, strength, dignity and honor of the Islamic Republic” appear to have had no effect.
While voting is seen by authorities as a show of support, many Iranians believe abstention is a form of protest and a way to undermine the legitimacy of the Islamic system.
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