Iran has to go to the second round of the presidential elections. None of the candidates received more than half of the votes. At Friday’s event, the reformist Massoud Pezeshkian took the initiative.
Iran will have to hold a second round of voting to elect its next president. The election will take place on July 5 after none of the candidates in Friday’s election received more than 50% of the vote, the interior minister announced on Saturday, as quoted by Reuters.
With more than 24 million votes counted, the reformist Massoud Pezeshkian obtained more than 10 million votes, ahead of the ultra-conservative Saeed Jalili with 9.4 million.
Abstention in Friday’s election broke records. Only 40 percent of more than 61 million voters cast ballots, a new presidential low since the 1979 revolution, according to Al Jazeera.
Iranians are not due to vote until 2025 for presidential elections, but the process was brought forward by the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. Mohammad Mokhber was appointed interim president by Iran’s supreme leader but did not stand for election.
Between three conservatives and one reformist, the presidential elections in Iran are an “informal referendum” on the regime
Source: Observadora
