4 candidates are within the race to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in Could.
Iranians are voting for a new president following the dying of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, selecting from a tightly managed group of 4 candidates loyal to the supreme chief at a time of rising public frustration.
Polls opened at 8am (04:30 GMT) on Friday and are scheduled to shut at 6pm (14:30 GMT), however the time will be prolonged till midnight.
The snap election coincides with escalating regional tensions as a result of present conflict between Israel and Iranian ally Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, in addition to elevated Western stress on Iran over its nuclear programme.
Whereas the election is unlikely to convey a significant shift within the Islamic republic’s insurance policies, its end result may affect the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme chief, in energy since 1989.
Khamenei referred to as for a excessive turnout to offset a legitimacy disaster fuelled by public discontent over financial hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
“The sturdiness, power, dignity and popularity of the Islamic republic rely upon the presence of individuals,” Khamenei informed state tv after casting his vote. “Excessive turnout is a particular necessity.”
Voter turnout has plunged over the previous 4 years, as a largely youthful inhabitants chafes at political and social curbs.
Handbook counting of ballots means the ultimate result’s anticipated to be introduced solely in two days, although preliminary figures could come out sooner.
If no candidate wins no less than 50 % plus one vote from all ballots forged, together with clean votes, a run-off between the highest two candidates is to be held on the primary Friday after the election result’s declared.
Three candidates are hardliners and one is a low-profile comparative average, backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent times.
The subsequent president just isn’t anticipated to usher in any massive coverage change on the nation’s nuclear programme or help for militia teams throughout the Center East, since Khamenei calls all of the photographs on high state issues.
Nevertheless, the president runs the federal government day-to-day and may affect the tone of Iran’s overseas and home coverage.
4 candidates
A hardline watchdog physique made up of six students and 6 jurists aligned with Khamenei vets candidates. It authorised simply six from an preliminary pool of 80. Two contenders subsequently dropped out.
Distinguished among the many remaining hardliners are Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, parliament speaker and former commander of the air pressure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who served for 4 years in Khamenei’s workplace.
The only real comparative average, Masoud Pezeshkian, is trustworthy to Iran’s theocratic rule, however advocates detente with the West, financial reform, social liberalisation and political pluralism.
His possibilities hinge on reviving the passion of reform-minded voters who’ve largely stayed away from the polls for the final 4 years after earlier pragmatist presidents introduced little change. He may additionally profit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hardline vote.
All 4 candidates have promised to revive the flagging financial system, beset by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions reimposed since 2018, after the USA ditched Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers.
Prior to now few weeks, Iranians have made large use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some activists at dwelling and overseas calling for an election boycott, saying a excessive turnout would legitimise the Islamic republic.