Iran’s “moderate” reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian was once considered a dark horse and unlikely to win snap elections to replace the late President Ibrahim Raisi, but he catapulted himself to the top by about one million votes when results were announced on Saturday. Pezeshkian did not pass the winning threshold of 50% of the vote and will now face hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili in a runoff election on July 5.
Pezechkian Collected In a low-turnout election, Mr. Jalili won 42.4 percent of the vote, or about 10.4 million votes. He came in second with 38.6 percent, or 9.4 million votes. Another hard-liner, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Bagher Qalibaf, who was seen as an early winner in the election, came in third with just 13.8 percent of the vote.
Turnout was estimated at just 40% of Iran’s eligible voters, the lowest on record. Many Iranians are worried that the election will pre-arranged The Iranian regime is ruled by a theocratic Guardian Council, and even if a “moderate” like Pezeshkian were to win, he would have little ability to actually reform the Iranian regime. Iran’s autocratic ruler remains Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he is old and in poor health and could soon be replaced.
Human rights activists inside and outside Iran have called on Iranians to boycott the election to choose Raisi’s successor. killed A helicopter crashed in May. The Iranian regime Complained They claimed the US government was “interfering” in the election and reducing voter turnout, criticising the vote as a farce.
Raisi won the 2021 election with 18 million votes, roughly the same number as the two top candidates in Friday’s election, and his election turnout was considered the lowest on record at the time. Regime critics say they allowed Pezeshkian to face off against five hard-line opponents only to create the illusion of a real choice, and are surprised he garnered so much support.
Pezeshkian campaigned on his skepticism of Iran’s strict head covering laws for women and the need for better ties with the West to secure Iran’s economic future. Jalili criticized Raisi’s economic policies that had left Iran in a dire situation. A strict theocracy They have a deep hostility towards the West.
England Guardian On Saturday, it became clear that Iranians are deeply skeptical of the regime media’s excited coverage of the election.
Tehran resident Kianoush Sanjari was struck by the contrast between the excitement at polling stations reported on official television and what he saw on the capital’s streets, saying he toured 14 polling stations and saw fewer than five people queuing up to vote. He then went to Laleh (Tulip) Park, one of his favorite places in Tehran, where he found old men playing chess under a gazebo, crowds of young people playing badminton, soccer and volleyball, and children practicing slacklining.
“I don’t know the situation in other cities, but I can assure you that the absolute majority of people in Tehran ignored and did not participate in the appointment of the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Reform activist Abbas Akhundi said he doubted turnout would be high in the runoff election on July 5, even though reformist Pezechkian seemed likely to win.
“A large section of Iranian society does not see a place for themselves in the dominant political institutions, therefore they have the right not to take part in elections. The government should be aware that if this process continues, this segment of society will become even larger, as some of those who vote will also sympathise with this group,” Akhundi said.
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