According to the Iranian Ministry of Interior, Iran’s presidential election will proceed to a second round as none of the four candidates—three fundamentalists and one reformist—secured more than half of the votes. Masoud Pezeshkian, representing the reformist faction, and Saeed Jalili, from the fundamentalist faction, will face off again on Friday 5 July. Iranians and the people of Rojhilat (Iranian Kurdistan), through their minimal participation, voiced a resounding no to the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The preliminary results announced a few hours ago showed that Pezeshkian received 10.4 million votes, while Jalili secured 9.4 million. The Ministry of Interior reported a voter turnout of 40 percent, the lowest in the history of Iranian presidential elections, with the lowest participation rates recorded in Rojhilat and the country’s marginal provinces.
Following the boycott of the Iranian presidential elections by Rojhilati parties, the provinces of Kordestan, Ilam, West Azerbaijan, and Kermanshah (Rojhilat) saw participation rates of 23 percent, 47 percent, 40 percent, and 32 percent respectively. The Gilan, Khuzestan, and Baluchistan provinces also recorded some of the lowest participation rates in Iran, with 31 percent, 29 percent, and 30 percent respectively.
Reports from Tehran prisons indicate that political prisoners in Ghezalhasar Prison in Karaj and Ward Four and the women’s ward of Evin Prison also abstained from voting. Additionally, Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former prime minister of Iran, and Zahra Rahnavard, leaders of the Green Movement, did not cast their votes.
Before the election, the Interior Minister stated that over 61 million people were eligible to vote both inside and outside the country. However, following the announcement of the results, the participation rate was recorded at 24.5 million, with just over one million votes deemed invalid.
