Masoud Pezeshkian, a moderate who has promised to open Iran to the world, is expected to win the run-off presidential election on Friday based on early results, reports said.
Voters in Iran hit the polls to choose a successor to late President , who along with the foreign minister and other officials.
The two contenders are Saeed Jalili, 58, a hard-liner who is a former negotiator with the West over Iran’s contentious nuclear program, and Pezeshkian, 69, a heart surgeon and reformist politician who was health minister from 2001 to 2005.
“The vote counting has ended and the rival candidates have been informed about the result. Pezeshkian is around three million votes ahead of his hardline rival Saeed Jalili,” said a source, who requested anonymity, to Reuters news agency.
Earlier, the interior ministry announced that Pezeshkian was leading in early results.
Turnout higher than first round
State TV said polling stations opened their doors to voters at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT/UTC) and stayed open until midnight (2030 GMT).
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There are some 60,000 polling stations and more than 61 million eligible voters in Iran amid a population of 85 million.
Initial reports indicating a turnout of around 50%, higher than in the first round.
Low-stakes election
While neither man is expected to bring big changes to Iran’s domestic or foreign policies if he wins, with the main power resting in the hands of the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian president will play a role in selecting the latter’s successor.
Analysts say, however, that a win by Jalili, who has often voiced his hostility toward the West, could bring an even more antagonistic domestic and foreign policy on the part of Tehran.
They say that Pezeshkian, who won some 10% more votes than Jalili in the first round, might advocate a milder foreign policy, be more open to reviving negotiations with major powers to restore the nuclear pact and be more such as the mandatory wearing of headscarfs by women.
Likely voter apathy
The run-off vote, called after neither man won more 50% of all votes cast a June 28 ballot that saw a record low turnout of just 40%, comes amid heightened regional tensions over and in Lebanon.
The country is also under continued pressure from the West over its nuclear program, which many countries fear might be a pretext for the production of nuclear weapons.
On the domestic front, Iran is contending with an ailing economy amid long mismanagement and state corruption and sanctions reimposed since 2018 after the with six world powers.
Turnout at Iranian elections has plunged in the past four years, with critics saying this reflects falling support for the country’s theocratic rule as economic hardships increase and political and social freedoms are tightly curbed.
The 2021 election that brought Raisi to power saw a turnout of just 48% and a parliamentary election in March a mere 41%.
tj/kb (Reuters, AP)