Photo: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989 is shown casting his vote . The outcome of the presidential election could influence the succession to Khmanei who calls all the shots on top state matters
Iranians voted for a new president on Friday following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader at a time of growing public frustration and Western pressure.
Polling ended at midnight in Iran after being extended three times for a total of six hours. Authorities said the initial result will be announced on Saturday.
The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear programme.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
The clerical establishment needs a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear programme or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
A hardline watchdog body made up of six clerics and six jurists aligned with Khamenei vets candidates, and approved only six from an initial pool of 80. Two hardline candidates subsequently dropped out.
Limited Choices
Three candidates are hardliners and one is a low-profile comparative moderate, backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.
A source close to the sole moderate candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, said, “So far, from the votes counted in small towns and villages, Pezeshkian has got around 3 million votes.”
Prominent among the remaining hardliners are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, parliament speaker and former commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who served for four years in Khamenei’s office.
While some insiders predicted a turnout around 50%, witnesses told Reuters that polling stations in Tehran and some other cities were not crowded.
Critics of Iran’s clerical rule say that low turnouts in recent years show the system’s legitimacy has eroded. In the 2021 presidential election, only 48% of voters participated and turnout plumbed a record low of 41% in a parliamentary election in March.
Iranians in Lebanon casting their ballots
Al Jazeera reported from an Iranian election polling station in Beirut, Lebanon that hundreds of Iranians that live in Lebanon voted
Reuters
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