Millions vote in Iran’s presidential election for resolution of issues, country’s progress
Millions of Iranians, in a display of tremendous patriotic fervor, participated in Friday’s snap presidential election to choose the successor of President Ebrahim Raeisi, who passed away in a helicopter crash last month.
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that the election for a new president must be held within 50 days following the death of a sitting president.
The voting on Friday followed weeks of intense campaigning, including field events, televised debates, and roundtable discussions in which the six candidates approved by the Constitutional Council, the country’s top election supervisory body, presented their blueprints and strategies.
As Election Day approached, two presidential candidates, Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Alireza Zakani, dropped out of the race to build consensus around one candidate.
Four other candidates – Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, former health minister Masoud Pezeshkian, and former interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi – chose to remain in the race.
In the week leading up to the June 28 election, various government bodies in Iran made extensive efforts to ensure the smooth conduct of Friday’s election for voters in Iran and overseas.
A total of 344 polling stations were designated for voters at Iranian diplomatic missions across the world to facilitate the participation of Iranians abroad in the voting process to elect the new president.
