Khamenei protege, sole moderate neck and neck in Iran presidential race
Updated 5 sec ago
Khamenei protege, sole moderate neck and neck in Iran presidential race
- More than 14 million votes have been counted so far from Friday’s vote
- Some insiders say turnout around 40%, lower than expected by clerical rulers
Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters
DUBAI: A low-key moderate and a protege of Iran’s supreme leader are neck-and-neck in the vote count in snap presidential elections marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and social restrictions.
More than 14 million votes have been counted so far from Friday’s vote, of which the sole moderate candidate Massoud Pezeshkian had won over 5.9 million votes and his hard-line challenger former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili over 5.5 million, provisional results by the interior ministry showed.
Some insiders said the turnout was around 40 percent, lower than expected by Iran’s clerical rulers, while witnesses said that polling stations in Tehran and some other cities were not crowded.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said a run-off election was “very likely” to pick the next president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
If no candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one vote from all ballots cast, including blank votes, a run-off between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the result is declared.
The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear program.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
The clerical establishment sought a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fueled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear program or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
Pezeshkian’s views offer a contrast to those of Jalili, advocating detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalization and political pluralism.
A staunch anti-Westerner, Jalili’s win would signal the possibility of an even more antagonistic turn in the Islamic Republic’s foreign and domestic policy, analysts said.
LIMITED CHOICES
The election was a contest among a tightly controlled group of three hard-line candidates and one low-profile moderate loyal to the supreme leader. A hard-line watchdog body approved only six from an initial pool of 80 and two hard-line candidates subsequently dropped out.
“Based on unconfirmed reports, the election is very likely heading to a second round … Jalili and Pezeshkian will compete in a run-off election,” Tasnim reported.
Critics of the clerical establishment say that low turnouts in recent years show the system’s legitimacy has eroded. Turnout was 48 percent in the 2021 presidential election and a record low of 41 percent of people voted in a parliamentary election in March.
All candidates have vowed to revive the flagging economy, beset by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions re-imposed since 2018, after the US ditched Tehran’s nuclear pact.
“I think Jalili is the only candidate who raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and giving value to the poor. … Most importantly, he does not link Iran’s foreign policy to the nuclear deal,” said Farzan, a 45-year-old artist in the city of Karaj.
DIVIDED VOTERS
Pezeshkian, faithful to Iran’s theocratic rule, is backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.
“We will respect the hijab law, but there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior toward women,” Pezeshkian said after casting his vote.
He was referring to the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, in 2022 while in morality police custody for allegedly violating the mandatory Islamic dress code.
The unrest sparked by Amini’s death spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s clerical rulers in years.
Pezeshkian attempted to revive the enthusiasm of reform-minded voters who have largely stayed away from the polls for the last four years as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs. He could also benefit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hard-line vote.
In the past few weeks, Iranians have made wide use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some activists at home and abroad calling for a boycott, saying a high turnout would only serve to legitimize the Islamic Republic.
Daesh killed more than 4,000 since Syria territorial defeat: monitor
Updated 27 sec ago
Daesh killed more than 4,000 since Syria territorial defeat: monitor
- Most of the victims are soldiers, government loyalists and Kurdish-led fighters, but the toll also includes 627 civilians
Updated 27 sec ago
AFP
BEIRUT: Daesh fighters have killed nearly 4,100 people in Syria since 2019 when the jihadists lost their last stronghold in the country, a war monitor said Saturday.
Daesh overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a so-called caliphate and launching a reign of terror in June of that year.
In March 2019, the jihadist group lost its last scraps of Syrian territory in a Kurdish-led military campaign backed by a US-led coalition, but remnants continue to launch deadly attacks from desert hideouts.
Daesh fighters “have killed about 4,100 people in more than 2,550 operations in areas controlled by the regime or” the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration since 2019, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a report.
Most of the victims are soldiers, government loyalists and Kurdish-led fighters, but the toll also includes 627 civilians, the Britain-based Observatory said.
More than half of the 4,085 victims fell in Syria’s vast Badia desert, which runs from the outskirts of Damascus to the Iraqi border.
A total of “2,744 people have been killed by the Daesh group since its formal collapse in 2019, in various areas of the Syrian desert,” said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside the country.
Daesh fighters have killed more than 2,500 government loyalists and soldiers in the Badia since their so-called caliphate fell, according to the Observatory.
“Hardly a day goes by without bombings, ambushes, targeted operations or surprise attacks” by the jihadists in the region, the report said.
“These operations are met with periodic security campaigns carried out by regime forces and groups loyal to them deep in the desert, with… Russian warplanes targeting the desert on a near-daily basis,” it added.
The group has sustained heavy damage, losing more than 2,000 fighters including top leaders since 2019, the report found.
A United Nations report released in January said Daesh’s combined strength in Iraq and Syria was between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters, with the Badia serving as a logistics and operations hub for the group in Syria.
Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions more since it broke out in March 2011 with Damascus’s brutal repression of anti-government protests.
Related
Khamenei protege, sole moderate neck and neck in Iran presidential race
Updated 29 June 2024
Khamenei protege, sole moderate neck and neck in Iran presidential race
- More than 14 million votes have been counted so far from Friday’s vote
- Some insiders say turnout was around 40%, lower than expected by Iran’s clerical rulers
Updated 29 June 2024
Reuters
DUBAI: A low-key moderate and a protege of Iran’s supreme leader are neck-and-neck in the vote count in snap presidential elections marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and social restrictions.
More than 14 million votes have been counted so far from Friday’s vote, of which the sole moderate candidate Massoud Pezeshkian had won over 5.9 million votes and his hardline challenger former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili over 5.5 million, provisional results by the interior ministry showed.
Some insiders said the turnout was around 40 percent, lower than expected by Iran’s clerical rulers, while witnesses said that polling stations in Tehran and some other cities were not crowded.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said a run-off election was “very likely” to pick the next president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
If no candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one vote from all ballots cast, including blank votes, a run-off between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the result is declared.
The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear program.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
The clerical establishment sought a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fueled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear program or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
Pezeshkian’s views offer a contrast to those of Jalili, advocating detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalization and political pluralism.
A staunch anti-Westerner, Jalili’s win would signal the possibility of an even more antagonistic turn in the Islamic Republic’s foreign and domestic policy, analysts said.
LIMITED CHOICES
The election was a contest among a tightly controlled group of three hardline candidates and one low-profile moderate loyal to the supreme leader. A hardline watchdog body approved only six from an initial pool of 80 and two hardline candidates subsequently dropped out.
“Based on unconfirmed reports, the election is very likely heading to a second round … Jalili and Pezeshkian will compete in a run-off election,” Tasnim reported.
Critics of the clerical establishment say that low turnouts in recent years show the system’s legitimacy has eroded. Turnout was 48 percent in the 2021 presidential election and a record low of 41 percent of people voted in a parliamentary election in March.
All candidates have vowed to revive the flagging economy, beset by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions re-imposed since 2018, after the US ditched Tehran’s nuclear pact.
“I think Jalili is the only candidate who raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and giving value to the poor. … Most importantly, he does not link Iran’s foreign policy to the nuclear deal,” said Farzan, a 45-year-old artist in the city of Karaj.
DIVIDED VOTERS
Pezeshkian, faithful to Iran’s theocratic rule, is backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.
“We will respect the hijab law, but there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior toward women,” Pezeshkian said after casting his vote.
He was referring to the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, in 2022 while in morality police custody for allegedly violating the mandatory Islamic dress code.
The unrest sparked by Amini’s death spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s clerical rulers in years.
Pezeshkian attempted to revive the enthusiasm of reform-minded voters who have largely stayed away from the polls for the last four years as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs. He could also benefit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hardline vote.
In the past few weeks, Iranians have made wide use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some activists at home and abroad calling for a boycott, saying a high turnout would only serve to legitimize the Islamic Republic.
Related
Khamenei’s protege Jalili edges ahead in tight Iran presidential race
Updated 29 June 2024
Khamenei’s protege Jalili edges ahead in tight Iran presidential race
- Vote unlikely to alter policies, may shape Khamenei succession
- Iranians elect president after Raisi died in helicopter crash
Updated 29 June 2024
Reuters
DUBAI: Saeed Jalili, steadfastly loyal to Iran’s supreme leader, pushed slightly ahead of the sole moderate candidate as more votes were counted from a tightly controlled snap presidential election held amid growing public frustration and Western pressure.
Among more than 10.3 million ballots from Friday’s election counted so far, hard-line former nuclear negotiator Jalili won more than 4.26 million votes and his low-profile moderate challenger lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian gained about 4.24 million, Interior ministry official Mohsen Eslami told state TV on Saturday.
Some insiders said the turnout was around 40 percent, lower than expected by Iran’s clerical rulers, while witnesses told Reuters that polling stations in Tehran and some other cities were not crowded.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said a run-off election was “very likely” to pick the next president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear program.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
The clerical establishment sought a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fueled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear program or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
Jalili, a former diplomat, describes himself as a pious believer in “velayat-e faqih,” or rule by supreme jurisprudence, Iran’s system of Islamic government that provides the basis for Khamenei’s paramount position.
Iran’s presidential election is a contest among a tightly controlled group of three hard-line candidates and one low-profile moderate loyal to the supreme leader.
A hard-line watchdog body approved only six from an initial pool of 80 and two hard-line candidates subsequently dropped out.
Pezeshkian is backed by the reformist camp that has been largely sidelined in Iran in recent years.
Critics of Iran’s clerical rule say that low turnouts in recent years show the system’s legitimacy has eroded. Turnout was 48 percent in the 2021 presidential election and a record low of 41 percent of people voted in a parliamentary election in March.
“Based on unconfirmed reports, the election is very likely heading to a second round … Jalili and Pezeshkian will compete in a run-off election,” Tasnim reported.
If no candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one vote from all ballots cast, including blank votes, a run-off between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the result is declared.
All candidates have vowed to revive the flagging economy, beset by mismanagement, state corruption and sanctions re-imposed since 2018, after the United States ditched Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers.
“I think Jalili is the only candidate who raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and giving value to the poor. … Most importantly, he does not link Iran’s foreign policy to the nuclear deal,” said Farzan, a 45-year-old artist in the city of Karaj.
Pezeshkian is faithful to Iran’s theocratic rule, but advocates detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalization and political pluralism.
“We will respect the hijab law, but there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior toward women,” Pezeshkian said after casting his vote.
He was referring to the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, in 2022 while in morality police custody for allegedly violating the mandatory Islamic dress code.
The unrest sparked by Amini’s death spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s clerical rulers in years.
Pezeshkian attempted to revive the enthusiasm of reform-minded voters who have largely stayed away from the polls for the last four years as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs. He could also benefit from his rivals’ failure to consolidate the hard-line vote.
“I feel Pezeshkian represents both traditional and liberal thoughts,” said architect Pirouz, 45, who said he had planned to boycott the vote until he learned more about Pezeshkian’s plans.
In the past few weeks, Iranians have made wide use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some activists at home and abroad calling for a boycott, saying a high turnout would only serve to legitimize the Islamic Republic.
“The youth were punished … young girls were killed on the streets … We can’t easily move on from that. … After all that happened, it’s unconscionable to vote,” said 55-year-old writer Shahrzad Afrasheh.
In the 2022/23 protests, more than 500 people including 71 minors were killed, hundreds were injured and thousands arrested, rights groups said.
Unidentified gunmen attack election vehicle in Iran- state media
Updated 29 June 2024
Unidentified gunmen attack election vehicle in Iran- state media
Updated 29 June 2024
Reuters
DUBAI: Unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying election boxes in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province and killed two security force members, Iran’s state media reported on Saturday.
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