By Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranians voted on Friday in a presidential runoff election that will test the popularity of clerical rulers amid voter apathy at a time of regional tensions and a standoff with the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
State television reported that polling stations opened their doors to voters at 8:00 a.m. local time (04:30 GMT). Voting was due to end at 6:00 p.m. (14:30 GMT) but was first extended until 8:00 p.m. and then until 10:00 p.m. (18:30 GMT) in response to “new requests” from polling stations, an Interior Ministry spokesman told state television.
In past elections, voting often lasted until midnight.
Queues were seen at polling stations in several cities late in the day. The final result is expected to be known on Saturday, although initial figures could be known earlier.
The run-off follows a June 28 election with a record low turnout, when more than 60 percent of Iranian voters abstained from early voting to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi after his death in a helicopter crash. Critics see the low turnout as a vote of no confidence in the Islamic Republic.
The vote is a tight race between low-profile lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian, the only moderate in the original field of four candidates, and hardline former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, a staunch advocate of deepening ties with Russia and China.
Although the election is expected to have little impact on the Islamic Republic’s policies, the president will be closely involved in selecting a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader who makes all decisions on major matters of state.
“I heard that people’s enthusiasm and interest are greater than in the first round. May God make it so, because it will be gratifying news,” Khamenei told state television after casting his vote.
Khamenei acknowledged Wednesday that “turnout was lower than expected” last week, but said that “it is wrong to assume that those who abstained in the first round are opposed to the Islamic regime.”
Voter turnout has plummeted over the past four years, a move critics say underscores that support for the clerical government has eroded at a time of growing public discontent over economic hardship and restrictions on political and social freedoms.
Only 48% of voters participated in the 2021 elections that brought Raisi to power, compared with 41% in parliamentary elections in March.
However, the Interior Ministry spokesman said that early reports indicated “a higher turnout compared to the same time in the first round of the election.”
The election comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East over the war between Israel and its Iranian allies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as growing Western pressure on Iran over its rapidly advancing uranium enrichment programme.
“Voting gives power… even if there is criticism, people should vote because every vote is like launching a missile (against enemies),” Iranian Revolutionary Guard aerospace commander Amirali Hajizadeh told state media.
The next president is not expected to make any major changes to Iran’s nuclear program or support for militant groups across the Middle East, but he runs the government day to day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
FAITHFUL RIVALS
Electoral rivals Jalili and Pezeshkian are establishment men loyal to Iran’s theocracy, but analysts say a victory for the anti-Western Jalili would signal a potentially more authoritarian domestic policy and an antagonistic foreign policy.
A Pezeshkian win could promote a pragmatic foreign policy, ease tensions over now-stalled negotiations with major powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and improve prospects for social liberalization and political pluralism.
However, many voters are skeptical about Pezeshkian’s ability to fulfill his campaign promises, as the former health minister has publicly stated that he had no intention of taking on Iran’s power elite, made up of clerics and security hawks.
“I didn’t vote last week, but today I voted for Pezeshkian. I know Pezeshkian will be a lame duck president, but he is still better than a hard-line candidate,” said Afarin, 37, a beauty salon owner in the central city of Isfahan.
Many Iranians have painful memories of the handling of the nationwide unrest sparked by the death in custody of young Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini in 2022, which was put down by a violent state crackdown that included mass arrests and even executions.
“I will not vote. It is a big NO to the Islamic Republic for Mahsa (Amini). I want a free country, I want a free life,” said Sepideh, a 19-year-old university student, in Tehran.
The hashtag #ElectionCircus has been widely shared on social media platform X since last week, with some national and international activists calling for an election boycott, arguing that a high turnout would legitimize the Islamic Republic.
Both candidates have promised to revive the ailing economy, which has been plagued by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions reimposed since 2018 after the United States, under then-President Donald Trump, abandoned the nuclear deal.
“I will vote for Jalili. He believes in Islamic values. He has promised to end our economic difficulties,” said Mahmoud Hamidzadegan, a 64-year-old retired employee, in the northern city of Sari.