Iranians are voting for a new president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader at a time of growing public frustration.
Polls opened at 8 am (04:30 GMT) on Friday and are scheduled to close at 6 pm (14:30 GMT), but the voting time can be extended until midnight.
The snap election coincides with escalating regional tensions due to the current war between Israel and Iranian ally Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran’s first direct attack against Israel in April, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
A council made up of six scholars and six jurists aligned with Khamenei vets candidates. It approved just six from an initial pool of 80. Two contenders subsequently dropped out.
Prominent among the remaining hardliners are Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, parliament speaker and former commander of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who served for four years in Khamenei’s office.
The sole comparative centrist, Masoud Pezeshkian, is faithful to Iran’s theocratic rule but advocates detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalisation and political pluralism.
Turnout is key
Voter turnout has plunged over the past four years, as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said voter turnout is key to the outcome because a higher turnout would give the only reformist candidate a larger chance.
“He will need approximately 55 to 60 per cent voter turnout,” she said, adding: “The very fact that there’s a split vote among the conservatives means the likelihood of a second round is real.”
“The turnout is also important for the establishment. We heard from Ali Khamanei the second time, calling for a massive turnout,” Khodr said.
“In Iran, these elections are seen like referendums on the system, legitimacy of the establishment and general sentiment in the country.”
Khamenei called for a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
“The durability, strength, dignity and reputation of the Islamic Republic depend on the presence of people,” Khamenei told state television after casting his vote. “High turnout is a definite necessity.”
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said nearly 60,000 voting stations and 90,000 “voting points” have been set up across the country, with more than 300 voting stations abroad.
More than 61 million people are eligible to vote inside and outside the country, the Ministry of Interior said on Friday.
