More than 60 million Iranians vote this Friday to elect a new president after the previous one, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter accident.
Iranians vote this Friday in some early elections to replace the deceased president Ebrahim Raisidied in a helicopter crash last month, at a time when the Islamic Republic is going through economic problems, mass protests and tensions in the Middle East.
Voters face a choice between hardline candidates and a little-known politician who belongs to the Iranian reformist movement that seeks to change its Shiite theocracy from within.
No international observers
As has been happening since Islamic Revolution of 1979, women and supporters of radical change cannot participate in the vote, which will not be supervised by observers internationally recognized.
The vote comes at a time of great tension in the Middle East by war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In April, Iran launched its first direct attack against Israel over the Gaza war, while the militias that Tehran arms in the region – such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen– participate in the fighting and have intensified their attacks.
What voter turnout will there be in Iran’s elections?
Record voter turnout is expected. However, given the record turnout in the last elections, remains unclear how many Iranians will participate in this Friday’s elections.
The Minister of the Interior, Ahmad Vahidi, in charge of supervising the elections, announced the opening of all polls at 8 in the morning, local time. Khamenei andcast one of the first votes of the electionsurging the public to go to the polls.
“Let people go to the polls with enthusiasm and increase the number of voters is an imperative need for the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said. State television later aired images of polling stations across the country with queues modest
Who is running in the Iranian elections?
Broadly speaking, analysts describe the elections as a three-way fight. There are two hardliners, the former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the president of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
The third candidate is a Shiite cleric, Mostafa Pourmohammadihas also remained in the electoral race despite the bad results in the surveys.
There is also the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkianwho has aligned himself with figures such as former president Hassan Rouhani, under whose administration Tehran reached the historic 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Finally, the nuclear deal fell apart and hardliners took the helm again.
Who is going to win the Iranian elections?
Greater participation could increase Pezeshkian’s chances, a 69-year-old cardiac surgeon seeking a return to atomic agreement and better relations with the West.
But still It is unclear whether Pezeshkian could gain the necessary momentum to attract voters to the polls. There have been calls for a boycott, including that of Narges Mohammadi, imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner. Meanwhile, Khamenei has already launched a thinly veiled warning to Pezeshkian and his allies for their desire to get closer to USA.
Everything you need to know about Iran’s elections
You can vote more than 61 million Iranians over 18 years old, of which about 18 million are between 18 and 30 years old. Iranian law requires the winner to obtain more than 50% of the votes cast. If not, the two candidates with the most votes will go to a Second round a week later.
Raisi, 63 years old, died in the helicopter crash on May 19in which they also lost their lives External subjects minister of the country and other people. He was considered a protégé of Khamenei and a possible successor as supreme leader.
However, many knew him for his participation in mass executions that Iran carried out in 1988 and for its role in the bloody measures against dissent that followed the protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by the police for allegedly improperly wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.
