Voting took place in Iran to elect the President

As voting proceeded in Iran’s presidential election on Friday, early estimates from campaign officials showed that only 40 percent of eligible voters appeared to be voting. The low turnout was a potential gambit for the ruling clerics, who had made voter participation a marker in their legitimacy and were hoping to reach 50 percent turnout compared with 70 percent in future presidential elections.

Hafez Hakami, campaign supervisor for the sole reformist candidate, Dr. Massoud Pezeshkians, confirmed in a telephone interview that turnout was lower than expected.

“We were really hoping for more than 50 percent participation,” he said, “but unfortunately the social mood for voting was still heavy, people could not be convinced to come to the ballot box.”

After years of financial targeting and well-imposed restrictions on personal and social freedoms, many Iranians say they are fed up with half-baked guarantees made by politicians who are unwilling or unable to fulfill them. For some voters, refusing to vote was a way to reject the federal government.

“The rift between the government and its people is severe,” said Omid Memarian, a human rights activist and senior analyst at DAWN, a Washington think tank. “From university students to women, political prisoners to those who lost loved ones during the nationwide protests of 2022, there has been a consensus that Iran needs more than the changes proposed by the regime.” Big changes are needed.

He added, “People are sick of having to choose between bad, worse and worst.”

In the capital Tehran, reports emerged of some polling stations being deserted. “The polling station where I voted today was empty,” said Mahdieh, a 41-year-old woman who gave her first title out of fear of the government. Regarding laws in Iran mandating women wear head coverings, she said, “I voted without the hijab.”

However, in the central and southern parts of the capital, where the government has more constituents, voters have been kept in order as voting hours have been extended until midnight.

Milad, 22, from Karaj, a city outside the capital, said he had changed his mind about not voting and planned to vote for Dr. Massoud.

“The majority of Iranians are against radicalism and extremism,” he said. “Since we now have a candidate who is representing a different path, I want to give him a chance.”

The vote to choose a successor to President Ibrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter clash in May, comes on a life-threatening basis for the country. The incoming president will face many challenging situations, including discontent at home and class, a poor health economy and a risky region that has twice brought Iran to the brink of conflict.

The overall final result likely won’t be known until the day after today, though analysts speculated it could be inconclusive, with none of the three primary applicants achieving 50 percent avoiding a runoff.

Pre-election polling via Iranian state TV showed the gap between the two conservative candidates, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Saeed Jalili, was about 16 percent of the votes, with the reformist candidate, Dr. Pezeshkian, having about 23 percent, analysts say. Hay says there could be a runoff election on July 5 between reformists and well-known conservatives.

That end result could have been avoided if some conservatives had backed off. However, in a sour public feud, neither Mr Ghalibaf, a former commander of the Islamic Innovative Guards Corps who is now speaker of parliament, nor Mr Jalili, a hardliner on both domestic and foreign policy, would not budge. Of the two, Mr. Ghalibaf is open as the more pragmatic.

In the original polling, Mr. Pezeshkian received the most support of any candidate, although still a long cutoff of 50 percent was required to avoid a runoff. Speaking to reporters in Ray, just southeast of Tehran, Dr. Pezeshkian said, “I have come for Iran. I have come to address the deprived areas and to listen to the voices of those who have not received their rights,” according to the state-run IRNA information company.

Also in the running is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a cleric with future senior roles in the field of knowledge, but his candidacy has rarely registered with the public and polls suggest he probably received less than 1 percent approval. Will get votes. Mr Pourmohammadi had warned throughout his campaign that the Islamic Republic had lost networks and voter turnout would be a major challenge.

Voting began at 8 a.m. on Friday, and turnout is expected to extend through the night to induce more turnout.

In the preamble to the election, Iran’s rulers, from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, described the vote as an office of defiance in the face of Iran’s enemies and a recognition of the rule of the Islamic Republic. ,

Casting his vote as voting began on Friday morning, Mr. Khamenei advised Iranians to vote for the sake of the country, no matter who they support, portraying it as an issue of civic responsibility that affects the country’s “dignity and Will maintain reputation. Comprehension of the area.

“This is a big political test for the country and I know some people are doubtful and haven’t decided what to do,” he said. “But I can tell them it’s important, it has many benefits, so why not?”

However his pleas apparently fell on deaf ears. Iranian elections are tightly controlled, with a committee of appointed clerics and jurists vetting all candidates and widespread government efforts to intimidate opposition voices in the news media. And almost all primary status decisions in Iran are made by Mr. Khamenei, especially in foreign and nuclear coverage.

As a result, it appears that many Iranians are continuing the boycott that started from the last primary election, either as a form of protest or as a result because they do not believe any significant change can occur in the electoral arena.

Four young women studying psychology at Tehran College, who were buying makeup in the Tajrish market in northern Iran on Wednesday, got a taste of that discontent. Even though he described himself as dissatisfied with conditions in Iran, he said he was not planning to vote.

“We can’t do anything about the situation; We have no hope except ourselves,” said Sohgand, 19, who asked not to be further identified out of fear of the government. “But we want to stay in Iran to make it better for our children.”

She once wore cloudy pants and a fitted jacket and left her brown hair open. However she also had a shawl draped over her shoulders in case an expert asked her to wear it. As for the rules requiring women to wear the hijab, she simply said, “We hate it.”

On Friday, community members crowded the domed and mosaic-covered Hosseinieh Ershad, a religious institution in Tehran, at noon to cast their votes.

Among them was Nima Saberi, 30, who said she was supporting the reformist. “We are confident that everyone will be united by Mr. Pezeshkian,” he said. “He is a logical person, he is not an extremist and he respects people from all walks of life.”

Mr. Saberi and others at the institute said they liked Mr. Pezeshkian’s insistence on cracking down on corruption and having “better relations with the world,” a euphemism often used to ease tensions with the West. Making delivery to remove restrictions.

Analysts said the televised debate, in which the candidates were strangely candid in criticizing the current situation, showed that control over US sanctions as well as an economy plagued by corruption and mismanagement ranked as a priority for voters and applicants. Has gone.

Analysts say there is no solution to the economy without addressing foreign policy, including the standoff with the US over Iran’s nuclear program and concerns about Iran’s military involvement in the region through a network of terrorist proxy groups.

“Rather than radical change, the election could lead to small, significant changes,” said Wali Nasr, a professor in the School of Global Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins College College of Complex Global Research in Washington. “Voices at the top that want a different direction may lead the Islamic Republic to retreat from some of its positions.”

With generational apathy prominent in most urban parks, voters in provinces with significant ethnic populations of Azeri Turks and Kurds are expected to turn out in high numbers for Dr. Pezeshkian. He himself is an Azeri Turk and has served as a member of parliament for the city of Tabriz, a large financial center in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. Dr. Pezeshkian has given marketing campaign speeches in his native Turkish and Kurdish.

At a rally in Tabriz on Wednesday, the doctor received a population hero’s welcome, with the crowd packing the stadium and singing a song tailored to films and information studies into Turkish nationalist music. Azeri activists say ethnic and non-religious minorities are rarely represented in the workplace in Iran, so the candidacy of one for president has generated excitement and enthusiasm locally.

Leelee Nicounazar Contributed reporting from Tehran.