The protégé of Iran’s supreme leader will square off against a moderate lawmaker in a runoff presidential election on July 5 following the announcement on Saturday by the interior ministry that no candidate received enough votes in the first round of voting.
The vote on Friday to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, was a close contest between former Revolutionary Guards member Saeed Jalili and low-key lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian, the only moderate among four contenders.
According to the interior ministry, Pezeshkian led Jalili with over 10 million votes, while Jalili received over 9.4 million votes. Neither candidate received the 50% plus one vote needed to win the election outright.
The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is ultimately in charge of Iran, so the outcome won’t signal a significant change in the country’s policies regarding its nuclear programme or its backing of militias throughout the Middle East. But the president is in charge of the government on a day-to-day basis and has the power to shape Iran’s policy.
A high turnout was anticipated by the clerical establishment, which is experiencing a crisis of legitimacy due to public discontent over economic hardship and restrictions on social and political freedom. On the other hand, according to figures released on Saturday by the interior ministry, voter turnout on Friday fell to a historic low of roughly 40%.
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