Iran is set to hold a run-off presidential election on July 5 after none of the candidates managed to secure more than 50% of the votes amid historic low turnout on Friday.
“None of the candidates could garner the absolute majority of the votes, therefore, the first and second contenders who got the most votes will be referred to the Guardian Council for the second round,” said an Interior Ministry spokesperson Mohsen Eslami.
The presidential elections, which were not due until 2025, were brought forward after late president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month. With more than 24 million votes counted moderate lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian led with over 10 million votes ahead of hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili with over 9.4 million votes, the interior ministry said on Saturday.
The run-off will see Pezeshkian and Jalili contesting each other to secure their place as Raisi’s successor as the duo emerged as leading candidates in yesterday’s polls.
Pezeshkian 69, is a heart surgeon who has represented the northern city of Tabriz in parliament since 2008. He served as health minister under Iran’s last reformist president Mohammad Khatami, who held office from 1997 to 2005 and has endorsed Pezeshkian’s bid in the current elections.
Meanwhile, Jalili is a former nuclear negotiator and held several senior positions in the country, including in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office in the early 2000s. He is currently one of Khamenei’s representatives in the Supreme National Security Council — Iran’s highest security body.—AFP
