Iran’s Presidential Election: Early Results Show Close Competition Between Reformer and Conservative Candidates, with a Second Round of Voting Possible

On June 29, following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a plane crash on May 19, Iran held early presidential elections. The results of the election are still being processed.

Former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian, who is considered a reformer, is currently leading by a small margin. Conservative Saeed Jalili, a representative of the spiritual leader on the Islamic Republic’s Security Council, is close behind.

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 seems 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 three conservative politicians in the first round have no other candidate to switch their support to.

It’s important to note that although President is considered as head of state in Iran but effectively Iran is ruled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and he has significant influence in political matters within Iranian government and society.