The Iranian Ministry of Interior announced today, Saturday, the move to a second round of early presidential elections next Friday, between candidates Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, who topped the results. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated, "We organized fair elections, and the voting process was conducted in the best possible condition." He added, "Campaigning for the second round will start tomorrow and continue until Friday."
According to the official results announced by the Ministry of Interior, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian came in first, receiving more than 10 million and 415 thousand votes so far, followed by conservative candidate Saeed Jalili who garnered 9.5 million votes.
Pezeshkian and Jalili will face off in a runoff election on July 5, after 40% of voters cast 24,535,185 votes. Pezeshkian received 10,415,991 votes (42.6%), while Jalili garnered 9,473,298 votes (38.8%). Other candidates received 3,383,340 and 206,397 votes, respectively.
Tasnim News Agency reported that voter turnout in the elections was 40%, with preliminary forecasts indicating a move toward a second round. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf received 2,676,000 votes, while Mostafa Bour Mohammadi received 158,314 votes.
Although the elections are unlikely to lead to significant changes in the policies of the Islamic Republic, their results may influence the choice of a successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is 85 years old and has held the position since 1989.
Breaking news: Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated: "We organized fair elections and the voting process was conducted in the best possible conditions. We did not witness any disruption in the institutions following the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi. I call on our people to participate next Friday in the second round of elections."
