A runoff election will be held as no candidate managed to secure more than half of the votes in the Iranian presidential by-election following the death of the previous President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last May.
According to the vote count released on June 29th (local time), the reformist heart specialist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian led with 43% of the votes, ahead of the hardline candidate, former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Jalili, who secured 39%.
The voter turnout did not even reach 40%, marking the lowest since the Iranian Revolution, and leading to a runoff election on July 5 as no specific candidate secured more than half the votes.
AP News analyzed that the one million invalid votes show the growing dissatisfaction among the people towards the economic hardships and the Shiite Islamic politics that Iran has been facing for years.
Despite warnings from Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Pezeshkian has promised reconciliation with the West.
Critics argue that Pezeshkian, who advocates for reform, is merely a candidate appointed by the government.
Sanam Vakil, Director of the Middle East and North Africa at the U.K. think tank Chatham House, stated that the 60% who did not vote will have the power to prevent the hardline candidate from winning in the runoff which will be observed on the 5th.
