Iran is gearing up for a runoff presidential election on July 5, after no candidate secured over 50% of the votes in the last round. With a turnout of 39.92%, a total of 24,535,185 votes were cast out of the 61,452,000 eligible voters.
In the previous election, Masoud Pezeshkian led with 42.45% of the votes, while Saeed Jalili followed closely with 38.61%. Both candidates have been actively campaigning to win over voters in the past week.
As a former health minister and current member of Parliament, Pezeshkian has a strong political background. On the other hand, Jalili has experience serving on various councils and in diplomatic roles.
The election comes earlier than expected due to the tragic passing of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others.
Now, all eyes are on the upcoming runoff election, which will determine who will lead Iran in the wake of President Raisi’s untimely death.
