Tehran, June 30: Iran’s snap presidential election is heading to a run-off after no candidate secured the required 50% of the vote, according to initial results released on Saturday, multiple reports said.
Former Health Minister and reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian led the polls with 10.4 million votes. His closest competitor, conservative candidate Saeed Jalili, who previously served as Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator and head of a top security body, garnered 9.4 million votes.
Trailing behind were Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf with 3.3 million votes and former Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who received just over 206,000 votes.
Approximately 40% of eligible voters participated in the first round, a turnout that fell short of expectations. This is a slight increase from the record-low 49% voter turnout in the 2021 election, which saw Ebrahim Raisi win by a landslide before his untimely death in a helicopter crash in May.
The run-off election is scheduled for July 5, giving the remaining candidates one week to campaign and engage in television debates.
Voting in the snap election took place on Friday and was extended three times before polling stations closed at midnight. State media reported that around 61 million people were eligible to vote, with a significant portion being young individuals. The 2021 election had 59.3 million eligible voters.
Across the country, 58,640 polling stations were established, including over 6,000 in the capital, Tehran.
As the run-off approaches, both candidates will intensify their efforts to win over voters in what promises to be a closely contested race.
