Iran's Seesawing Vote Results Have Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and Hard-liner Saeed Jalili in a Tight Race
June 28, 2024
Early, seesawing results released Saturday in Iran’s presidential election put the race between reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and hard-liner Saeed Jalili, with the lead trading between the two men while a runoff vote appeared likely.
The early results, reported by Iranian state television, did not initially put either man in a position to win Friday's election outright, potentially setting the stage for a runoff election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi.
It also did not offer any turnout figures for the race yet — a crucial component of whether Iran's electorate backs its Shiite theocracy after years of economic turmoil and mass protests.
So far, after counting over 14 million votes, Pezeshkian, the heart surgeon and surprise reformist, has 5.9 million of them, while Jalili is right behind with 5.5 million. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, another hard-liner and the parliament speaker, is in third place with 1.89 million votes. Shiite cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi is bringing up the rear with over 111,900.
Voters faced a choice between the three hard-line candidates and the little-known reformist Pezeshkian. As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from running, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognized monitors.
This election comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Iran has been actively involved, with its support for militia groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis escalating regional conflicts. Additionally, Iran's ongoing uranium enrichment program continues to draw international scrutiny.
There have been calls for a boycott, including from imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. Mir Hossein Mousavi, a leader of the 2009 Green Movement protests who remains under house arrest, also refused to vote, according to his daughter.
Critics argue that Pezeshkian might simply be another government-approved candidate. A young woman featured in a state TV documentary on Pezeshkian expressed her generation's growing frustration with the government, likening it to the sentiment during the 1979 revolution.
Under Iranian law, a presidential candidate must secure more than 50% of the votes to win outright. If this does not occur, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election. Iran has only seen one runoff presidential election in its history, in 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Raisi, who passed away in a helicopter crash on May 19, was a significant figure aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a potential successor. His legacy is marked by his involvement in the mass executions of 1988 and the brutal crackdowns on dissent following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Despite the recent unrest, the election day was relatively calm, with only one reported incident. Gunmen opened fire on a van transporting ballot boxes in the restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing two police officers and wounding others. The province frequently experiences violence involving the militant group Jaish al-Adl and drug traffickers.
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