Iran presidential election: runoff election between Massoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran announced Saturday it will hold a runoff presidential election to replace the previous hardline president. Ibrahim Raisi Early voting saw the leadership contenders fail to secure an outright victory in what was the lowest voter turnout ever held in the Islamic Republic.

Reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian will face hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in upcoming Friday’s election.

Election spokesman Mohsen Eslami announced the results at a news conference held via Iranian state television. He cited 24.5 million votes, Pejeshkian was given 10.4 million votes, Jalili received 9.4 million votes.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf was given 3.3 million. Shia cleric Mustafa Pourmohammadi received more than 206,000 votes.

Iranian law demands that a winner receive more than 50% of all votes cast. If not now, the two applicants advance to a runoff in the next life in race management. Only one presidential election has been held in Iran’s history: in 2005, when hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Eslami said the country’s parent council would like to trade formal favors, but the final result showed no immediate challenges from contenders in the race.

As has been the case since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Girls and those calling for radical trade Stopped from operating, there would be no observations from demonstrations known worldwide within hours.

There are indications of widespread public disillusionment towards voting. According to the results, more than 1 million votes were voided, generally indicating people felt compelled to vote, but there was no longer any candidate to choose from.

According to the results the total turnout was 39.9%. Voter turnout was 48.8% in the 2021 presidential election electing Raisi, while turnout in March’s parliamentary election was 40.6%.

Despite the low turnout, Interior Minister Ahmed Wahidi praised the population from around the world for participating in the vote, which was conducted without any known witnesses.

He thanked those who voted for their “very valuable presence”, and said that the election had taken place in “complete security” and “with very serious competition”.

Boycott including imprisonment was demanded Nobel laureate Nargess Mohammadi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the main leaders of the 2009 Green Movement protests, also refused to vote with his wife, his daughter said.

There are also complaints that Pezeshkian represents another government-approved candidate. In a documentary on the reformist candidate aired on state TV, a woman said that his past was “moving towards the same level” of animosity towards the government that Pezeshkian had in the 1979 revolution.

Jalili, once described by CIA director Andrew Burns as “highly opaque” in negotiations, would likely have had a direct advantage if the three hard-liners had not sabotaged Friday’s vote.

Qalibaf, former head of Iran’s paramilitary Modern Defense, despite being dogged by corruption charges, had an extensive military base. He is also known for launching a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999 and allegedly ordering shootings against students in 2003 while serving as chief of the country’s police.

The question now is whether Pezeshkian will be able to attract citizens to his campaign. At election time, He presented feedback on access to vote casting nearest to the West with the aim of increasing voter turnout For his campaign – even those closest to him are being targeted Indirect threat from favorite chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,

“Although he has received notable support from prominent reformist figures, including former presidents (Hassan) Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, Pezeshkian has generally been a weak candidate,” geopolitical consultancy Eurasia Workforce said in a study ahead of the vote. “Should he qualify for a runoff, his position will be weakened as the conservative voting bloc will unite behind a single candidate.”

Raisi, 63, Died in helicopter attack on 19 May Which still killed the country’s foreign minister and others. At one time he was recognized as Khamenei’s disciple and potential successor. However, many people knew him for his participation in the mass executions carried out by Iran in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdown on dissent that followed protests over the death of Mahsa Amini. Police detained a gentle woman Required scarf or hijab when allegedly worn inappropriately.

Voting time comes as widespread tension prevails in Hart East Israel-Hamas war Inside the Gaza Strip.

In April, Iran launches its first direct attack on Israel During the war in Gaza, armed forces groups that remain in Tehran’s hands in the area – such as Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels – have engaged in fighting and stepped up their attacks.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic continues Enrich uranium at similar weapons-grade ranges and possesses vast stockpiles to build multiple nuclear weapons – it must choose to act.

Despite intense unrest, only one attack was reported during the election. Gunmen opened fire on a van carrying voting materials in the restive south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing two police officers and wounding others, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The province sees frequent violence between security forces and the terrorist group Jaish al-Adl, as well as drug traffickers.

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Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed to this document.