Iranian citizens worldwide vote in snap presidential election

Voting is underway for Iran's snap presidential election, with polling stations open both domestically and internationally.

Iranian citizens are casting their ballots at polling stations across the globe, including in Russia, China, Australia, South Korea, Georgia, Tajikistan, Indonesia, UAE, Iraq, Türkiye, Oman, Qatar, Greece, Germany, Lebanon, Uganda, Croatia, India, Belarus, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Italy, the United States, England, and other countries, Caliber.Az reports citing Iranian media.

09:09

Today, on June 28, an extraordinary presidential election is taking place in Iran.

All citizens of the country over the age of 18, which means more than 61 million people out of Iran's 85 million population, will be able to participate in the vote. The election results are expected to be announced no later than June 30.

Four candidates, previously approved by Iran's Ministry of the Interior, will compete for the presidency.

According to experts, the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has the highest chances of gaining voter support in the upcoming election. In his campaign, Ghalibaf has promised to "save Iran from crisis and increase financial aid to the underprivileged." He has also emphasized the need to reduce the number of migrants from Afghanistan and to raise salaries for healthcare workers.

Saeed Jalili, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, ran in the 2013 presidential election. In 2021, he registered again but then withdrew his candidacy and supported Raisi, who ultimately won that election. Jalili argues that Iran should not negotiate the renewal of the nuclear agreement with the United States and Western European countries.

Former Iranian parliament member Masoud Pezeshkian is the only reformist candidate in this election. He advocates for the renewal of the nuclear deal, stating that Iran needs to establish dialogue with Western countries and build closer relations between Tehran and Washington.

Former Minister of the Interior and ex-Minister of Justice Mostafa Pourmohammadi is the only cleric running in the election. Representing the conservative circles of the clergy, he has nevertheless surprised observers and the public with his reformist views. In particular, he has called for the abolition of the morality police, criticized internet censorship, and emphasized the need for negotiations with the United States. Reformist candidate Pezeshkian said that Pourmohammadi expresses even more reformist views than he does.

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, earlier this week called on voters to participate in the election.

Earlier, the Mehr agency, citing a survey conducted in Iran, reported that more than 52% of the country's citizens are ready to vote in the election. The agency also cited Parsine's poll data on candidate popularity: about 29% of respondents are ready to vote for Ghalibaf, another 21% for Pezeshkian. Jalili rounds out this trio, potentially receiving the votes of 18% of voters.