Iran poised for presidential run-off in tight race
Al Jazeera
Masoud Pezeshkian could benefit if turnout is higher during an expected second round next Friday.
Tehran, Iran – The snap presidential election in Iran appears to be heading for a run-off next week after reformist-backed Masoud Pezeshkian and hardliner Saeed Jalili emerged at the top but failed to secure a majority.
The latest numbers from election headquarters at the Ministry of Interior on Saturday morning showed the moderate Pezeshkian was ahead with 8.3 million votes from a total of just more than 19 million ballots counted, trailed by former nuclear negotiator Jalili with more than 7.1 million votes.
Conservative parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with 2.6 million votes, and conservative Islamic leader Mostafa Pourmohammadi, with 158,314 votes, are out of the race. Two other candidates, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani and government official Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, dropped out.
The snap election comes within the 50-day constitutionally mandated period to select a new president after Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, died in a helicopter crash on May 19.
Like all major elections in the past four years, the vote on Friday saw low turnout. The Interior Ministry has yet to announce official turnout figures.
