Presidential elections in Iran head to a runoff

The 18-hour voting period for Iran's 14th presidential election has ended nationwide. Masoud Pezeshkian is leading the race with 5 million 354 votes, followed by Saeed Jalili with 4 million 875 thousand 269 votes.

The spokesperson for the Iranian Interior Ministry's Election Headquarters, Mohsen Eslami, announced that the voting period, which began at 08:00 local time and was extended three times after its scheduled 18:00 conclusion, ended at 24:00. Eslami stated that the doors of the polling stations were closed as of 24:00 and that only those already inside would be allowed to continue voting.

The Iranian official announced that the ballot boxes would be opened and the counting process would begin. The voting period for the presidential election was extended first to 20:00, then to 22:00, and finally to 24:00, lasting a total of 18 hours.

50 PERCENT + 1 VOTE REQUIREMENT

The election features reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, and conservative candidates Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, former Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, and former Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi.

ELECTION HEADS TO A RUNOFF

Since none of the candidates in the Iranian presidential election surpassed 50 percent of the vote, the reformist Pezeshkian, who received the most votes, and the conservative Saeed Jalili have advanced to a runoff.

Candidates must receive 50 percent + 1 of the vote to be elected in the first round.

Because no candidate exceeded 50 percent + 1 in the first round, the two candidates with the most votes have advanced to the runoff. The winner of the second round, to be held on July 5, will become the country's 9th President.