Pezeshkian and Jalili leading in vote count for Iranian presidential elections, second round anticipated

Early presidential elections were held in Iran on Friday, June 28, following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a plane crash on May 19. The results of the election are still being processed.

On the morning of June 29, after counting 12 million votes out of approximately 61 million voters in Iran, former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian, seen as a reformer, is leading by a small margin. Close behind him is conservative Saeed Jalili, a representative of the spiritual leader on the Islamic Republic’s Security Council.

In order to win the election, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the votes. If no candidate achieves this, a second round of voting will take place on July 5, with the top two candidates from the first round participating.

Based on preliminary results, it is likely that neither Pezeschkian nor Jalili will secure more than 50% of the votes, leading to a second round of voting where the conservative candidate may have an advantage. This is due to the fact that voters who supported the three conservative politicians in the first round will not have another candidate to switch their support to.

Although the President is considered the head of state in Iran, the country is effectively ruled by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei.