Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian continues to hold the lead in Iran’s early presidential elections, beating his main rival, Saeed Jalili, a candidate from the conservative wing, the country’s election commission, located in the Islamic Republic’s Interior Ministry, said after counting more than 14 million votes.
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“A total of 14 million 70 thousand 462 votes have been counted. Masoud Pezeshkian gains 5 million 955 thousand 781 votes, Said Jalili – 5 million 560 thousand 321 votes, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf – 1 million 891 thousand 381 votes, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi – 111 thousand 967 votes” , the election commission said in a statement.
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Voting in the presidential elections took place in Iran on Friday, June 28.
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The main candidates in the fight for the presidency were initially six people: the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013), cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the representative of the Supreme Leader of Iran in the Supreme National Security Council Said Jalili, the current speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the mayor of Iran capital Alireza Zakani, former Minister of Health and Medical Education of Iran during the second term of President Mohammad Khatami (2001-2005) and member of parliament Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as head of the Foundation for Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi.
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However, Ghazizadeh-Hashemi and Zakani withdrew their candidacies the day before the elections in favor of the Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and the representative of the Supreme Leader of Iran in the Supreme National Security Council Said Jalili.
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The President in Iran is the second most powerful politician in the country after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The president’s responsibilities include implementing the provisions of the constitution and directing the executive branch. The overall direction of Iran’s foreign policy will depend on the new president.
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To win the presidential elections in Iran, a candidate needs to win more than 50% of the votes. If no one receives that many votes, a second round will be held a week later, on July 5, in which the two candidates who received the most votes in the first will compete.
