Iran Presidential Election: Runoff Announced as No Clear Winner Emerges
The announcement came during a news conference broadcasted on national television, following the tally of over 24.5 million votes.
In the first round, former health minister and senior lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian led with 10.4 million votes, closely followed by Saeed Jalili, the former lead nuclear negotiator, who secured 9.4 million votes.
The other candidates, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and former interior affairs minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, received 3.3 million and over 397,000 votes, respectively.
The runoff, scheduled for July 5, will see Pezeshkian and Jalili vying for the presidency. A second round becomes necessary when no candidate achieves a majority of 50 percent plus one vote.
Eslami put the voter turnout at 40 percent.
Watch:
Eslami has provided nine updates on the election results, with the first coming at approximately 3:25 am local time on Saturday.
The most recent update, around 11:37 am, showed Pezeshkian maintaining his lead with 10,415,991 votes (42.45%) and Jalili at 9,473,298 votes (38.61%). Qalibaf and Pourmohammadi remained significantly behind.
The voting period was extended three times on Friday due to high turnout, ultimately concluding at midnight.
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This snap presidential election follows the untimely death of President Ebrahim Raeisi in a helicopter crash on May 19. More than 61 million Iranians are eligible to cast their ballots.
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