TEHRAN: Iranians voted Friday in a presidential election runoff between a reformist advocating improved ties with the West and an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator.The election, known as early after the demise of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, follows a primary spherical marked by a traditionally low turnout final week.The runoff between reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and ultraconservative Saeed Jalili comes amid heightened regional tensions over the Gaza conflict, Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West and widespread financial discontent exacerbated by Western sanctions.Supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the ultimate say in all state issues in Iran, solid his poll when polls opened.”I heard that the passion and curiosity of the folks is greater than earlier than, reward to God that will probably be like this, and whether it is like this, will probably be gratifying,” he stated.State tv confirmed voters queueing in Saveh in central Iran and Kerman within the south, however AFP correspondents stated polling stations appeared much less busy in Tehran.In final week’s first spherical, Pezeshkian, who was the one reformist permitted to face, received the most important variety of votes, round 42 %, whereas Jalili got here second with 39 %, in response to figures from Iran’s elections authority.Solely 40 % of Iran’s 61 million eligible voters took half — the bottom turnout in any presidential election for the reason that Islamic Revolution of 1979.In previous elections, authorities have prolonged polling hours to offer voters the utmost time to prove and the inside ministry introduced that they might once more be prolonged on Friday, till 10:00 pm (1830 GMT).Low turnoutKhamenei known as for a better turnout within the runoff, emphasising the significance of the election.He stated the primary spherical turnout was decrease than anticipated, however added that it was not an act “in opposition to the system”.The election was initially scheduled for 2025 however was introduced ahead by Raisi’s demise in a helicopter crash in Could.Pezeshkian and Jalili have taken half in two televised debates throughout which they mentioned the low turnout, in addition to Iran’s financial woes, worldwide relations and web restrictions.Pezeshkian vowed to “absolutely” oppose police patrols imposing the necessary headband for ladies, a high-profile concern for the reason that demise in police custody in 2022 of Mahsa Amini.The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd had been detained for an alleged breach of the gown code and her demise sparked months of nationwide unrest.Following the unrest, girls more and more flouted the code however police have once more stepped up checks in current months.At a Tehran polling station, 48-year-old Fatemeh stated she voted for the reformist whose “priorities embody girls and younger folks’s rights.”The candidacy of Pezeshkian, a relative unknown till lately, has raised the hopes of Iran’s reformists after years of dominance by the conservative and ultraconservative camps.Jalili, famous for his uncompromising anti-Western place, mobilised a considerable base of hardline assist and acquired backing from different ultraconservative candidates.Whereas campaigning, the 58-year-old criticised moderates for having signed the 2015 deal which promised Iran sanctions aid in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.Jalili stated the accord, which the US withdrew from in 2018 underneath then-president Donald Trump, “didn’t profit Iran in any respect”.‘Fed up’“I voted for Jalili as a result of the subsequent president shouldn’t repeat the earlier mistake and signal a brand new settlement with the West,” stated Ali, a 38-year-old college professor, at a polling station in central Tehran.”They deceived us as soon as and that is sufficient. Their guarantees can’t be trusted,” stated Ali, who gave solely his first title. Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old coronary heart surgeon, has known as for “constructive relations” with Western nations to revive the nuclear deal with a purpose to “get Iran out of its isolation”.Pezeshkian voted at a college west of Tehran the place he was accompanied by former overseas minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who helped clinch the 2015 deal.A member of parliament representing the northwestern metropolis of Tabriz since 2008, he has earned the assist of Iran’s reformists, with former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani backing his candidacy.Casting his poll on Friday, Khatami urged Iranians to vote “for the longer term and good of the nation”.Pezeshkian stated folks had been “fed up with their residing circumstances… and dissatisfied with the federal government’s administration of affairs.”Jalili has held a number of senior positions, together with in Khamenei’s workplace within the early 2000s.He’s presently one in every of Khamenei’s representatives within the Supreme Nationwide Safety Council, Iran’s highest safety physique.
