Iran to vote, reformist Pezeshkian and fundamentalist Jalili on the ballot – Middle East

The Iranian Interior Ministry officially announces that the reformist candidate will run in the second round of the presidential elections, the first round of which was held yesterday. Masoud Pezeshkian and extreme conservatives Saeed Jalili. The first was first in terms of number of preferences.

“None of the candidates managed to get an absolute majority of votes” in the first round, so “the first and second place will compete” in the number of votes on July 5, said the spokesman for the Tehran ministry’s electoral department. The state’s election command announced that the latest vote count gave reformist Masoud Pezeshkian 5,354,000 votes and hardliner Saeed Jalili 4,875,269 votes.

The other two candidates in the race, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, received 1,620,628 and 95,172 votes, respectively. Tasnim added that neither candidate will receive 50%, which will likely lead to a runoff on Friday, July 5, between Pezeshkian and Jalili. Today, official statements are expected from the Ministry of Interior.

According to Tasnim Agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards. 40% of eligible voters participated in the elections: this figure represents an all-time low In elections in Iran. In the 2021 presidential election, when the previous negative record since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979 was set, it was just over 48%. This election figure, if confirmed, is also lower than the 41% in the parliamentary elections held last March.

Iran: Two agents killed in Balochistan election attack

In Iran, “Two policemen were killed in an armed attack by unknown assailants on a car carrying ballot boxes in Jakigor, Sistan-Baluchestan Province,” the Iranian police in the province announced, according to the official IRNA news agency.

According to the statement, the attackers – who were likely separatists from Balochistan – wanted to seize ballot boxes with votes cast in the presidential elections. Police added that no one else was injured in the attack.

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