The presidential election pits reformist MP Massoud Pezeshkian, who advocates an Iran more open to the West, against ultra-conservative Saïd Jalili, known for his uncompromising stance.
Iran will go to the polls on Friday in the second round of its presidential election, pitting Massoud Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate in favour of opening up to the West, against Said Jalili, an ultra-conservative and inflexible former nuclear negotiator.
The elections, the first round of which took place on June 28, were organised to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died on May 19, along with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a helicopter crash in the Kalibar and Warzghan areas of the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan.
Iran’s presidential election is due to go to a second round on July 5. Neither candidate received 50% of the vote.
The trip to the polls will be closely watched abroad as the Islamic Republic, a heavyweight in the Middle East, is at the centre of several geopolitical crises. From the war in the Gaza Strip to the nuclear issuein which it disagrees with Western countries, specifically the United States, its declared enemy.
Between three conservatives and one reformist, the presidential elections in Iran are an “informal referendum” on the regime
In this second round they face the reformist deputy Massoud Pezeshkian, 69 years old, who advocates an Iran more open to the Westformer nuclear negotiator, ultra-conservative Saïd Jalili, 58, known for his uncompromising stance against Western powers.
In the first round, marked by a high level of abstention (39.9%), Pezeshkian obtained 42.4% of the votes against 38.6% for Jalili. Another conservative, Mohamed Bagher Ghalibaf, came third.
Virtually unknown when he entered the presidential race, Pezeshkian took advantage of the division among conservatives, who could not agree on a single candidate.
However, Ghalibaf called on his supporters to vote for Jalili in the second round. Former reformist president Mohammad Khatami supports Pezeshkian.
Opposition figures in Iran, as well as in the diaspora, have called for a boycott of the elections, viewing the conservative and reformist camps as two sides of the same coin.
A surgeon by profession, Pezeshkian is known for his outspokenness, having not hesitated to criticise the authorities during the protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, three days after she was detained by police for violating the strict female dress code.
Source: Observadora
