Iranian presidential candidate and reformist Massoud Pezeshkian, flashes the V-sign for victory after casting his vote during the presidential election in Tehran on June 28, 2024. Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s only reformist candidate in the latest presidential election, has risen from relative obscurity to become the ninth president of the Islamic republic on July 6, 2024. Pezeshkian, 69, won around 53.6 percent of the vote in a runoff election against the ultraconservative Saeed Jalili.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on July 6 for his win in Iran’s presidential runoff election.

“Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship for the benefit of our peoples and the region,” Mr. Modi wrote on social media platform X.

India and Iran have warm ties despite Tehran’s pariah status among Western countries including the United States, at the same time as New Delhi pursues greater security cooperation with Washington.

In May, both countries signed a contract to develop and equip the long-stalled Chabahar port project in Iran, prompting Washington to warn that Indian firms working on the project risked sanctions.

Mr. Pezeshkian received around 54% of the vote while ultraconservative rival Saeed Jalili got around 44% in the second round of the poll.

An election was not due until 2025 but was called early after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Electoral staff count ballots at a polling station after voting ended in Iran’s run-off presidential election between Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, in Tehran, Iran July 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian was leading in runoff presidential elections against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, according to early results released on July 6 by the interior ministry.

Officials have so far counted more than 11 million ballots for Pezeshkian and around 9 million for Jalili, electoral authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

Editorial | Waiting for the reformist: On the Iran election

The final result will be announced later on Saturday.

Iran held the first round of its snap presidential election last week which was marked by a record low turnout.

Only 40% of Iran’s 61 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the first round – the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The first round saw Pezeshkian, a sole reformist candidate, leading the polls running against three conservative figures with Jalili coming second and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in third place.

As none of the candidates secured more than 50% of the votes, a runoff round between Pezeshkian and Jalili was held on Friday.

Mr. Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, earned the support of Iran’s main reformist coalition including ex-president Mohammad Khatami and moderate former president Hassan Rouhani.

Mr. Jalili, 58, is noted for his uncompromising anti-West position and rallied a substantial base of hardline supporters and received backing from other conservative figures.

The snap elections were originally slated for 2025 but were brought forward after the unexpected death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a May helicopter crash.

The ballot comes against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions over the Gaza war, a dispute with the West over Iran’s nuclear programme, and domestic discontent over the state of Iran’s sanctions-hit economy.

Iranian women fill out their ballots before casting their vote, during elections to select members of parliament and a key clerical body, in Tehran on March 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Iranian conservatives secured the bulk of seats in elections for a key clerical body and the national legislature, local media reported, estimating a record low turnout.

Authorities were still counting ballots two days after Friday’s vote for members of parliament and for the Assembly of Experts, which selects the Islamic republic’s supreme leader.

Also Read | Iranians go to vote burdened by economic pain and unmoved by promises

The vote was the first since protests broke out over the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian Kurd who had ben arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

The election, in which a vetting process barred many hopefuls from running, took place with Iran suffering a severe economic crisis deepened by international sanctions.

The official IRNA news agency put the turnout at around “41 percent” among 61 million eligible voters. No official figure had yet been announced.

The reformist daily Shargh predicted the next parliament would be “in the hands of radical conservatives” who “took advantage of the opportunity created by the low participation”.

Etemad, another reformist newspaper, reported that turnout was lower in Iran’s bigger cities than its smaller ones, and that there was a significant number of “blank votes”.

Fears of a low turnout had swirled ahead of the elections after a state TV poll found more than half of respondents were indifferent about the elections.

Wake-up call

Turnout in the capital Tehran was around 25%, according to Iranian media, which reported that ultraconservative candidates secured 12 of the 30 parliament seats alloted to the capital.

Some seats have gone to a second round, which will take place in either April or May, IRNA reported.

The pro-government Iran Daily said authorities should see the low turnout as a “wake-up call and redouble their efforts to fortify their support base”.

Reformist daily Ham Mihan said that “the soul of the elections was lost” and that turnout was “far from victorious” which could have “political repercussions” for Iran’s system.

Political analyst Mohammad Mohajeri said conservatives and ultraconservatives will emerge as the main winner in the elections due to “sharp decline in the participation rate”.

A record figure of 15,200 hopefuls were competing for seats in the 290-member parliament.

Another 144 candidates sought a place in the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which is exclusively made up of male Islamic scholars.

By allowing a large pool of candidates, the government wanted “to create local competition and increase participation” to help attract voters, journalist Maziar Khosravi earlier told AFP.

Iran’s 2020 parliament was elected during the Covid pandemic with a turnout of 42.57% — at the time the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Former moderate president Hassan Rouhani cast his ballot on Friday despite his disqualification from running for the Assembly of Experts after 24 years of membership.

Another former president, the reformist Mohammad Khatami, was among those who did not vote, according to a coalition of parties called the Reform Front.

In February, Mr. Khatami had said on his official website that Iran is “very far from free and competitive elections”.