Iran will hold a run-off presidential election on July 5 as no candidate secured the required 50% of votes on Friday, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
The vote to replace Ebrahim Raisi after his death last month in a helicopter crash came down to a tight race between the sole moderate in a field of four candidates and the supreme leader’s hardline protege.
With more than 24 million votes counted, moderate lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian led with 10.4 million votes, ahead of hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili with 9.4 million, according to provisional results released by the ministry.
Power in Iran ultimately lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, so the result will not herald any major policy shift in Iran’s nuclear programme or its support for militia groups across the Middle East.
But the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s policy. The outcome of the vote could also influence the succession to the 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
Raisi died at a time of worsening strains between the clerical leadership and the wider society, aggravated by tightening political and social controls and a worsening economy.
A hardline watchdog body approved only six presidential candidates from an initial pool of 80. Two hardline candidates subsequently dropped out, apparently in order to reduce the risk of diluting the conservative vote.
Growing numbers of voters have shunned recent elections, a worrying sign for the leadership, which sees turnout as a credibility test for the 45-year-old Islamic Republic.
Turnout on Friday was about 40%, according to interior ministry data released on Saturday. That compared with 48% in the 2021 presidential election and 41% in a parliamentary election in March this yeard.
Pezeshkian’s views offer a contrast to those of Jalili, advocating detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalisation and political pluralism.
A staunch anti-Westerner, Jalili could press for an even more antagonistic turn in foreign and domestic policy if he wins, analysts said.
All candidates vowed to revive the flagging economy, beset by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions reimposed since 2018, after the United States ditched a nuclear pact with Tehran.
“I think Jalili is the only candidate who raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and giving value to the poor. … Most importantly, he does not link Iran’s foreign policy to the nuclear deal,” said Farzan, a 45-year-old artist in the city of Karaj.
Pezeshkian, while faithful to theocratic rule, is backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.
“We will respect the hijab law, but there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behaviour toward women,” Pezeshkian said after casting his vote.
He was referring to the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, in 2022 while in morality police custody for allegedly violating the mandatory Islamic dress code.
The unrest sparked by Amini’s death spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s clerical rulers in years.
Pezeshkian attempted to revive the enthusiasm of reform-minded voters who have largely stayed away from the polls for the last four years as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs. He could also benefit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hardline vote.