We've updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy
We've made some important changes to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and we want you to know what this means for you and your data.
Iran's presidential election moves to run-off after low turnout
- Author, Kasra Naji
- Role, 大象传媒 Persian
Iran will hold a run-off election after hardline candidate Saeed Jalili and rival Massoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as reformist, both failed to secure a majority in the presidential race.
Candidates need to win 50% of the vote but the pair both hovered around the 40% mark - with Mr Pezeshkian finishing narrowly ahead.
Iran's interior ministry confirmed the second round is set for 5 July.
Two security force members were killed after unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying election boxes in Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to state media reports.
Former nuclear negotiator Mr Jalili was trailing Mr Pezeshkian - a former heart surgeon and health minister - by about a million votes, early results from the interior ministry show.
Mr Pezeshkian has promised a different approach, saying the actions of the morality police, who enforce strict dress codes on women, are "immoral".
Although he is seen as a reformist, Mr Pezeshkian is deeply loyal to Iran's supreme leader.
Some commentators have suggested that should he be elected, Iran should not expect more than a difference in tone.
The vote is to replace former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died on 19 May when the helicopter he was in crashed into a mountain, with seven other people also killed.
Though there are 61.5 million eligible voters in Iran, only around 40% turned out to vote - the fewest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the ultimate authority in the country, had called for 鈥渕aximum鈥 turnout.
Iran was shaken by a huge wave of protests in 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code.
Human rights groups say hundreds were killed in the crackdown and thousands detained.
Top Stories
More to explore
Most read
Content is not available