Hardliner, Reformist Face Off In Iran Presidential Run-Off

Voters in Iran will elect a new president on Friday, with a hardline conservative facing off against a reformist in the run-off.

The election follows the first round on June 28, where no candidate secured a majority, and voter turnout was historically low at 40%.

Dr. Massoud Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon, is critical of Iran’s morality police and promises “unity and cohesion” as well as an end to Iran’s “isolation” from the world.

He advocates for “constructive negotiations” with Western powers to renew the 2015 nuclear deal, which aims to ease Western sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program.

His opponent, Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator, supports maintaining the status quo. He has strong backing from Iran’s religious communities and opposes restoring the nuclear deal, which he believes compromises Iran’s “red lines.”

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The election follows the death of Iran’s previous president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash in May that killed seven others.

Both candidates passed a vetting process conducted by the Guardian Council, a powerful body of 12 clerics and jurists, which disqualified 74 other candidates, including several women. Human rights groups have criticized the Council for disqualifying candidates not loyal enough to the regime.

With turnout at its lowest since the 1979 Iranian revolution, voter apathy could play a significant role in the run-off. On Iranian social media, the Persian hashtag “traitorous minority” has gone viral, urging people not to vote for either candidate and labeling those who do as “traitors.”

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Stephen Jesuwale

Jesuwale Stephen is a journalist who finished from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. He is a distinctive writer, media strategist and also a Digital Marketer