Iran goes to a runoff election between reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-liner Saeed Jalili

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, reformist candidate for the Iranian presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian casts his ballot as he waves to media in a polling station, in Tehran.

Synopsis

Iran will proceed with a runoff presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, as no candidate secured a majority in the initial vote. Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian will face off against hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in the upcoming election, scheduled for the following Friday.

By AP

Jun 29, 2024, 02:08:00 PM IST

Iran will hold a runoff presidential election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, an official said Saturday, after an initial vote saw the top candidates not secure an outright win. The election this coming Friday will pit reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against the hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Mohsen Eslami, an election spokesman, announced the result in a news conference carried by Iranian state television. He said of 24.5 million votes cast, Pezeshkian got 10.4 million while Jalili received 9.4 million. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf got 3.3 million. Shiite cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi had over 206,000 votes.