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Campaigning kicks off for Friday’s runoff
The Guardian Council’s spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif said the validity of the first round of the election has been approved by the council, adding that no complaints were submitted to the council by any of the candidates.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the Reformist contender, and Conservative Saeed Jalili will face off in the July 5 runoff election after final results showed that Pezeshkian secured a narrow lead over Jalili.
Winner of the competition will replace the late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month.
Pezeshkian received 10,415,991 votes while Jalili gained 9,473,298.
Conservative parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the two other candidates, garnered 3,383,340 and 206,397 votes respectively.
According to the Interior Ministry, out of 61 million eligible voters, more than 24 million cast their ballots, resulting in a 40% turnout. This means that the turnout rate has been lower than the previous presidential election, which saw nearly 49%.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the vote went smoothly.
“The presidential election was conducted in complete security, in all fairness, with very serious competition and with the valuable presence of people at the ballot boxes,” he said.
Iran’s presidential race began with six candidates but Alireza Zakani, the current mayor of Tehran, and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi withdrew from the race on the eve of the election day.
After the official announcement of the final results, Pezeshkian issued a statement, calling for high turnout in the runoff election.
“We must stand up once again and make a new plan”, he said.
Pezeshkian said that Iranians from all ethnicities should join hands and save the country from “poverty, lies, discrimination and injustice.”
“I hope your presence will be the basis of a new voice for change in attitude, behavior, conversation and in the distribution and allocation of resources,” he added in a video published on the website of the Reformist newspaper Etemad.
In a message posted on his X account on Sunday, Pezeshkian assured his supporters that his government will stand against “forced” morality police and filtering of Internet content and social media platforms.
“Those who are part of the problem cannot save us. The future is in your hands,” he said in another message.
Jalili visited Tehran’s Grand Bazar on the same day to talk with people. He underlined that improving the country’s economic situation is among his most important plans.
He said that the economic status of the public will improve by his economic programs.
The two candidates are also scheduled to take part in televised debates on Monday and Tuesday. Campaigning will continue until 24 hours before the polls open for casting ballots.