Iran's presidential election goes to run-off

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) — Iran's snap presidential election is heading to a run-off after no candidate managed to secure 50% of the vote, according to initial results released on Saturday.

According to the final count announced by the election headquarters on Saturday, reformist candidate and former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian garnered the highest number of votes — 10.4 million.

His closest competitor, conservative candidate Saeed Jalili, who has served as lead nuclear negotiator and head of a top security body, came second with 9.4 million votes.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf trailed behind with 3.3 million votes, while former Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi received just over 206,000 votes.

About 40% of eligible voters cast there ballots in the first round, falling short of expectations for higher turnout in this year's election.

The 2021 poll, which late Ebrahim Raisi won by a landslide, had witnessed record-low voter turnout of 49%. Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.

The run-off election will be held on July 5, with the two remaining candidates having one week to engage in campaigning and television debates before election day.

Voting in the snap presidential election was held on Friday and was extended three times by the election headquarters before voting lines closed at midnight.

An estimated 61 million people were eligible to vote in this election, according to state media, with the majority being young people. In the 2021 presidential election, 59.3 million people were eligible to vote.

A total of 58,640 polling stations were set up across the country, including more than 6,000 in the capital Tehran.