Iran holds vote to elect president

As voting in Iran’s presidential election continued on Friday, initial estimates from campaign officials showed that only about 40% of eligible voters had cast ballots. The low turnout was a potential blow to the ruling clerics, who had made voter turnout an indicator of their legitimacy and had hoped for a 50% turnout, compared to about 70% in previous presidential elections.

Hafez Hakami, campaign manager for the only reformist candidate, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkianz, confirmed in a phone call after the polls closed that the turnout rate was lower than expectations.

“We were expecting a turnout of over 50 percent, but unfortunately the social mood for voting was still heavy, and we could not convince people to come to the polls,” he said.

After years of economic hardship and severe restrictions on personal and social freedoms, many Iranians say they are fed up with empty promises made by politicians who are unwilling or unable to deliver. For some voters, refusing to vote was the only way to reject the government.

“The rift between the government and its people is dangerous,” said Omid Memarian, a human rights activist and senior analyst at the Washington-based think tank DAWN. “From university students to women to political prisoners to those who lost loved ones during the nationwide protests of 2022, there was a consensus that Iran needs far greater changes than the regime is proposing.

He added: “People are tired of choosing between bad, worse and worse.”

In the capital, Tehran, reports emerged of some polling stations being evacuated. Mahdia (41 years old), who only gave her first name for fear of the authorities, said: “The polling station where I cast my vote today was empty.” “I voted without the hijab,” she added, referring to the rules requiring women to wear a head covering in Iran.

But in the central and southern parts of the capital, where the government has more voters, voters stood in lines as voting hours were extended until midnight.

Milad, 22, from Karaj, a city on the outskirts of the capital, said he had changed his mind about not voting and was planning to vote for Dr. Massoud.

“Most Iranians are against extremism and extremism,” he said. “Now that we have a candidate who represents a different path, I want to give him a chance.”

The election to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May, comes at a critical time for the country. The next president will face a series of challenges, including discontent and divisions at home, a struggling economy and a volatile region that has brought Iran to the brink of war twice this year.

The final result may not be known until tomorrow, but analysts expect that it will not be decisive, as none of the three main candidates will obtain the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff.

Opinion polls conducted by Iranian state television before the election showed that the vote was evenly split between conservative candidates Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Saeed Jalili, with each receiving about 16%. The reformist candidate, Dr. Pezeshkian, received about 23%. Analysts say that if this situation continues, a runoff will be held on July 5 between the reformist and the prominent conservative.

The outcome could have been avoided if one of the conservatives had withdrawn. But in a bitter public dispute, neither Mr. Qalibaf, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who is now parliament speaker, nor Mr. Jalili, a hardliner on domestic and foreign policy, have budged. Of the two, Mr. Qalibaf is seen as the more pragmatic.

In the latest poll, Mr. Pezeshkian had the most support of any candidate, but he was still far short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. “I have come for Iran. I have come to address the deprived areas and listen to the voices of those who have not received their rights,” Dr. Pezeshkian told reporters after casting his ballot in Rey, southeast of Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a cleric who has previously held senior intelligence positions, is also running, but his candidacy has not resonated with public opinion and opinion polls indicate that he is likely to receive less than 1% of the vote. Pourmohammadi had warned throughout his election campaign that the Islamic Republic had lost the people and that the turnout rate in the elections would pose a major challenge.

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time on Friday and are expected to remain open into the night to encourage more turnout.

In the run-up to the election, Iran’s rulers, from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, described the vote as an act of defiance against Iran’s enemies and an affirmation of the Islamic Republic’s rule.

Casting his vote as polls opened on Friday morning, Khamenei urged Iranians to vote for the country, regardless of who they support, portraying it as a matter of civic duty that would bring the country “dignity and credit” in the election. Eyes of the world.

“This is a big political test for the nation, and I know some people are skeptical and haven’t decided what to do yet. But I can tell them it’s important, it has many benefits, so why not?” he said.

But it seems that his calls fell on deaf ears. Iranian elections are strictly controlled, with a committee of appointed clerics and jurists vetting all candidates, as well as intense government efforts to intimidate opposition voices in the media. In addition, almost all major decisions taken by the state in Iran are taken by Mr. Khamenei, especially in the field of foreign and nuclear policy.

As a result, many Iranians appear to have continued the boycott that began with the last major election, either in protest or because they do not believe real change can come through the ballot box.

Four young women studying psychology at Tehran University, who were buying cosmetics from Tajrish Bazaar in northern Iran on Wednesday, showed a flavor of this discontent. Although they described themselves as disturbed by the situation in Iran, they said they did not plan to vote.

We cannot do anything about this situation; “We have no hope except in ourselves,” said Sohgand, 19, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of the authorities. “But we want to stay in Iran to make it better for our children.”

She was wearing black pants and a tight jacket, leaving her brown hair exposed. But she also had a scarf wrapped around her shoulders in case an official asked her to wear one. As for the rules requiring women to wear the hijab, she simply added: “We hate it.”

On Friday, the mosaic-covered Hosseiniyeh Ershad Seminary, a religious seminary in Tehran, was packed at midday as people lined up to cast their votes.

Among them is Nima Sabri (30 years old), who said she supports Al-Islah. “We believe that Mr. Pezeshkian will unite everyone,” he said. He added: “He is a logical person, not an extremist, and respects people from all walks of life.”

Mr. Saberi, along with others at the institute, stressed that they appreciated Mr. Pezeshkian’s commitment to rooting out corruption and establishing “better relations with the world,” a euphemism often used to ease tensions with the West in order to solve the problem. Get the sanctions lifted.

Analysts said the televised debates, in which the candidates were surprisingly vocal in criticizing the status quo, showed that the economy, which is suffering from US sanctions as well as corruption and mismanagement, is a top priority for voters and candidates.

Analysts say the economy cannot be fixed without addressing foreign policy, including the standoff with the United States over Iran’s nuclear program and concerns about Iran’s military involvement in the region through its network of proxy armed groups.

“Instead of radical change, elections can produce smaller, albeit important, shifts,” said Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. “Voices at the top of power that want a different direction could push the Islamic Republic to back away from some of its positions.”

Although apathy remains high in most urban areas, voters in provinces with large Azeri and Kurdish populations were expected to turn out in larger numbers for Dr. Bezishkian. He is an Azeri Turk himself and has served as a member of parliament for Tabriz, a major economic center in the northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. Dr. Bezishkian has delivered campaign speeches in his native Turkish and Kurdish.

At a rally in Tabriz on Wednesday, the doctor received a folk hero’s welcome, as fans filled the stadium and sang a Turkish nationalist song, according to videos and news reports. Azerbaijani activists say ethnic and religious minorities are rarely represented in senior positions in Iran, so the nomination of one of them for the presidency has generated interest and enthusiasm at the regional level.

Lily Nikonzar He contributed reporting from Tehran.