Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili votes at a polling station
A moderate moderate and a protégé of Iran’s supreme leader stand side by side counting votes in early presidential elections, marked by voter apathy in the face of economic difficulties and social restrictions.
More than 14 million votes have been counted so far since Friday’s vote, of which the only moderate candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, received more than 5.9 million votes and his hardline opponent, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, more than 5.5 million, provisional results from the Ministry of Interior showed.
Some sources said turnout was around 40%, lower than expected by Iran’s clerical rulers, while witnesses told Reuters that polling stations in Tehran and some other cities were not full.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said a second round of elections was “very likely” to choose the next president, following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
If no candidate obtains at least 50% plus one vote of all ballots, including blank votes, a second round between the top two candidates will be held on the first Friday after the result is declared.
The elections coincide with escalating regional tension due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increasing Western pressure on Iran over its rapidly expanding nuclear program. advancement.
Although the elections are unlikely to bring about a major change in the Islamic Republic’s policies, their outcome could influence the succession of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, who has been in power since 1989.
The clerical establishment sought high participation to compensate for a crisis of legitimacy fueled by public discontent over economic hardship and restrictions on political and social freedom.
The next president is not expected to introduce any major policy changes to Iran’s nuclear program or support for militia groups across the Middle East, as Khamenei makes all decisions on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government on a day-to-day basis and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
Pezeshkian’s views contrast with Jalili’s, advocating détente with the West, economic reform, social liberalization and political pluralism.
Strongly anti-Western, Jalili’s victory would signal the possibility of an even more antagonistic turn in the Islamic Republic’s foreign and domestic policy, analysts said.
LIMITED CHOICES
The election was a contest between a tightly controlled group of three hard-line candidates and a low-key moderate loyal to the supreme leader. A hardline watchdog approved just six of an initial group of 80, and two hardline candidates later withdrew.
“Based on unconfirmed reports, it is very likely that the election will head to a second round… Jalili and Pezeshkian will compete in a second round,” Tasnim reported.
Critics of the clerical establishment say low turnout in recent years shows the system’s legitimacy has deteriorated. Turnout was 48% in the 2021 presidential election and a record low 41% of people voted in the March parliamentary election.
All candidates promised to revive the declining economy, plagued by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions reimposed since 2018, after the US abandoned Tehran’s nuclear pact.
“I think Jalili is the only candidate who has raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and uplifting the poor. … Most importantly, he does not link Iran’s foreign policy to the nuclear deal,” said Farzan, a politician 45 years old. -former artist from the city of Karaj.
DIVIDED VOTERS
Pezeshkian, loyal to Iran’s theocratic government, is supported by the reformist faction that has been largely marginalized in Iran in recent years.
“We will respect the hijab law, but there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior towards women,” Pezeshkian said after voting.
He was referring to the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, while in moral police custody for allegedly violating the mandatory Islamic dress code.
The unrest sparked by Amini’s death has turned into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s clerical rulers in years.
Pezeshkian has tried to revive the enthusiasm of reformist voters who have largely stayed away from the polls over the past four years, at a time when a mostly young population is chafing at political and social restrictions. He could also benefit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hardline vote.
In recent weeks, Iranians have made extensive use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some domestic and foreign activists calling for a boycott, saying high turnout would only serve to legitimize the Islamic Republic.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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