TEHRAN – Early presidential elections are taking place today in Iran, with four candidates competing for the presidency.
For the presidential election, Iran’s Guardian Council had approved the names of only six candidates; however, two candidates, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashmi and Ali Reza Zakani, withdrew from the race at the last moment.
Now, four candidates—Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Masoud Pezeshkian, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi—will compete in the presidential elections. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, women are not allowed to run for the presidency.
Voting for the presidential elections in Iran began at 8 AM, with more than 61 million people eligible to vote.
According to Iranian media, the final results of the presidential elections will be announced in two days. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, a second round of elections will be held.
The presidential elections in Iran were scheduled for 2025, but following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident last month, the Iranian public will vote for a new president today.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the public to participate actively in the elections on Friday.
In the previous presidential elections in 2021, many reformist and moderate candidates were disqualified, leading to a lack of voter interest, resulting in a turnout of approximately 49%, the lowest in the history of Iran’s presidential elections.
The presidential elections in Iran are taking place at a time when the country faces internal inflation challenges and international challenges due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
