Six candidates are running in the snap elections, called after the death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
More than 61 million Iranians are expected to elect their president, including about 18 million who are between the ages of 18 and 30.
Among the four main candidates are two hard-liners, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili (top middle in the photo) and the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. (at the bottom left) .
A reformer among the three favorites
Surprise guest, the reformer candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, (top left) a 69-year-old surgeon, who wants better relations with the West. He aligned himself with figures such as former President Hassan Rohaniunder whose administration Tehran struck the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
A higher turnout could increase the latter’s chances but it is not certain that Masoud Pezeshkian can get the momentum needed to attract voters to the polls.
In any case, the supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khameneiwhich is the highest authority in Iran, called for “maximum” participation.
The last three candidates, Alireza Zakanithe mayor of Tehran (top right in the photo), and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi (bottom middle), Iranian Vice President, and a Shiite cleric, Mostafa Pourmohammadiformer Minister of the Interior, (bottom right), complete the list but have very little chance of being elected.
An uncertain second round
Iranian law requires the winner to obtain more than 50% of the votes cast. If not, the top two candidates in the race will meet in a runoff next week.
There has only been one second round in Iran’s history, in 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejada hard-liner, beat former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The results will be known in two days.
