Ballot
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The early presidential election, after the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a plane crash in May, is expected to return an ultraconservative to power. A second round may be necessary, with turnout supported by the campaign of the only moderate candidate.
He’s the one no one saw coming. Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, is one of four candidates in the Iranian presidential election on Friday June 28. He is also the only one to be part of the reform camp, facing three conservatives. He is unlikely to be elected, but his successful campaign could boost turnout and provoke a second round. According to a June 24 poll from Ispa, an institute close to power, he is credited with 24.4% of the votes, ahead of the ultra-conservative Saïd Jalili, close to the Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who would obtain 24 %. “It is a surprise, indicates researcher Jonathan Piron, Iran specialist for the Etopia study center. His campaign surprised with its success in meetings and polls, when no one was banking on the reformers anymore.”
This June 28 election was not scheduled. Theoretically, it should have taken place in 2025 and its winner was more than likely: the outgoing president, Ebrahim Raïssi, a cleric with unfailing loyalty to Khamenei. But on May 19, dense fog caused the helicopter carrying him on his return from the inauguration of a dam on the border with Azerbaijan to fall. Raïssi was killed, and the Iranian power then had five
