Iranian presidential candidates Massoud Pezeshkian and Said Jalili in a televised debate on July 2, 2024, during the presidential run-off. (Creidt: Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/Irib/Wana/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)
For the first time since 2005, a runoff will decide the identity of Iran's next president. Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident on May 19, Iranians have a choice between two vastly different candidates at the polls on Friday, July 5: Massoud Pezeshkian, a reformist who led in the first round on June 28, and Said Jalili, from the ultraconservative party. While international attention is predominantly focused on legislative elections in France and Britain, the outcome of the presidential election in the Islamic Republic could nonetheless have significant implications. Several issues are at stake in the runoff.Voter turnout in the Iranian runoffHistorically, a high abstention rate has always favored conservatives. The first round saw the lowest turnout since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, at...
For the first time since 2005, a runoff will decide the identity of Iran's next president. Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident on May 19, Iranians have a choice between two vastly different candidates at the polls on Friday, July 5: Massoud Pezeshkian, a reformist who led in the first round on June 28, and Said Jalili, from the ultraconservative party. While international attention is predominantly focused on legislative elections in France and Britain, the outcome of the presidential election in the Islamic Republic could nonetheless have significant implications. Several issues are at stake in the runoff.Voter turnout in the Iranian runoffHistorically, a high abstention rate has always favored conservatives. The first round saw the lowest turnout since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, at...