The turnout in the elections in Iran held yesterday to choose the new president exceeded 40%, following the death in a helicopter crash last May of Ebrahim Rahisi who had held the position since 2021. The count sees the reformist Massoud Pezeshkian with 42.6% of the preferences (5.354 million votes) and fundamentalist Saeed Jalili, with 38.8% (with 4.875 million votes). This was announced this morning by the spokesperson of the State Election Command, Mohsen Eslami, quoted by the state press agency Irna. The other two candidates in the race, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, obtained 1.620 million votes and 95 thousand votes respectively. According to the country’s media, it seems unlikely that one of the candidates will be able to reach 50% of the votes already, outlining the need for a runoff on July 5 between Pezeshkian and Jalili.
The “farce” and the protests
The elections come after months of almost continuous protests by the population to obtain greater respect for their rights, harshly repressed by the police. The “Women, Life, Freedom” movement was born in 2022 due to the death of the young Mahsa Amini, which occurred while she was in police custody for not having worn the veil in the manner considered correct. After her, many others have suffered a similar fate as the country remains in a state of severe economic crisis. Regardless of the outcome, numerous activists, as explained by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi a Open, they consider the vote “a farce” after which there will be no change. According to the Iranian constitution, in fact, decision-making power continues to be the exclusive prerogative of supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The president’s role is only to best interpret his wishes.
The attack on the ballot boxes
There were also signs of dissent during the vote itself. Two police officers were killed in an armed attack by “miscreants” on a car carrying ballot boxes in Jakigour, Sistan-Baluchistan province, Iranian police said. The attackers, probably separatists from Baluchistan, wanted to steal ballot boxes containing ballots cast for the presidential election, the statement said. No one else was reportedly injured in the attack. The final results will determine whether a runoff will be necessary and are expected later today.
