Iran - July 2024
Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian wins snap presidential election
On 5 July, presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, representing the reformist political faction, won the second round of the Iranian presidential election with 53.7 percent of the vote. He defeated his hardline opponent, Saeed Jalili. Voter turnout reached 49.8 percent, higher than the record low 39.93 percent registered in the first round. This snap election was called following the sudden death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on 19 May. Initially, 80 candidates, including four women, registered for candidacy. However, Iran’s Guardian Council, responsible for overseeing the elections and vetting candidacies, approved only six male candidates. Two candidates withdrew prior to the first round, leaving four contenders in the race. Since no candidate secured the required 50 per cent of the vote in the first round, a runoff was held between the top two candidates, Pezeshkian and Jalili. Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony took place on 30 July.
Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, IRNA, Mehr News Agency, Al Arabiya
