Yesterday (June 5, 2024) Iranians were voting in a presidential run-off pitting Masoud Pezeshkian against Saeed Jalili.
Pezeshkian or Jalili? this was the common question in Iran last week.
Saeed Jalili and Masoud Pezeshkian competed in Friday’s run-off presidential election in Iran after no candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the first round.
In the first round on June 28, Pezeshkian came out on top with about 42.5%, and Jalili was second, with some 38.7%.
Over 61,450,000 eligible Iranian voters could take part in the elections inside the country and abroad. Voter turnout in last week’s polls stood at 40%.
The individuals born on or before June 28, 2006, were eligible to vote.
Forces from the Police, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Basij were tasked with ensuring the security of the election.
As many as 58,640 polling stations in Iran and 344 others abroad were set up for the first round of the election on June 28.
Over 138 offices abroad hosted Iran’s runoff presidential election on July 5.
"Reports from ambassadors and heads of Iranian missions abroad indicate that the turnout of Iranians overseas during this election period has been magnificent," Nasser Kan'ani told reporters on Friday.
The embassies and Iranian missions also report that conditions had been favorable for Iranians abroad to take part in the elections, with no significant issues so far, he said.
The nation's turnout enhances the nation's authority on both regional and international stages, he said, hoping that this strong participation will herald the beginning of a new era of strengthening the country's influence and power.
Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran's presidential runoff election
The voting started at 8 a.m. local time on Friday morning and extended three times, lasting until midnight.
Immediately after the voting process ended in the run-off presidential election in Iran on Friday night, the work to count the ballots started in polling stations across the country.
Mohsen Eslami, the spokesman for Iran’s election headquarters, had already announced the results of the election and expressed Pezeshkian’s lead.
Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s presidential election to become the ninth president of the Islamic Republic.
The former health minister secured over 16.3mn votes in Friday’s run-off, defeating Saeed Jalili who garnered 13.5mn votes, according to the interior ministry.
Out of a total of 30,530,157 counted votes, Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, won 16,384,403 votes while Jalili stood behind his rival with 13,538,179 ballots.
The gap between the two candidates was more than two million votes in the end.
Pezeshkian, 69, has acted as a lawmaker in the Iranian Parliament five times.
He was also the vice speaker of Iran’s 10th Parliament. The president-elect had served as Iran’s minister of health for four years.
Participation in the election was around 50% in a tight race between Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in the original field of four candidates, and the former nuclear negotiator Jalili.
Over 30 million votes were cast as a large number of people flocked to polling stations in Tehran and other cities and villages across the country in response to the call made by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Iranians from all walks of life headed to the nearest polling stations on Saturday to cast their ballots to shape the country's future.
Reported by Tohid Mahmoudpour
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