Iranians voted across the country on Friday for the first round of the presidential election. The ultraconservative Saïd Jalili and the reformer Massoud Pezeshkian came first in the votes.
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Which president will straighten out Iran? Two candidates came out on top in the first round on Friday, June 28: the ultraconservative Said Jalili (38.6%) and the reformer Massoud Pezeshkian (42.5%). Iranians have no illusions about this presidential election, which did not excite the crowds. Participation was around 40% for the first round according to the authorities, even lower than for the 2021 presidential election and for the legislative elections in March.
Massoud Pezeshkian, former Minister of Health, came to add a little salt. He is the surprise guest of the election: his personality and his program of openness seduced this Tehran merchant. “I will vote for Pezeshkian”, this voter confided to franceinfo, a few hours before the first round. “He is an honest person, we know his life, his family, his career. He does not pretend to know everything and he calls on experts in different fields,” he continues.
In the conservative camp, Mohamad Baquer Ghalibaf, former mayor of Tehran and current speaker of parliament, came third with 13.8% of the vote, behind Said Jalili, to whom he finally gave his support on Saturday June 29.
The head of the Iranian parliament was favored by this retiree:“It’s not a question of reformers or conservatives. The president must be someone pragmatic, that he can have a strong cabinet, that will serve the people. Ghalibaf, when he was mayor of Tehran, took care of municipal services.”
Iranians are tired of election promises that don’t lead to anything concrete. This retired education minister wants stability above all else, especially after the death of their president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May. “We need continuity with President Raïssi. I expect the next president to help people and resist oppression,” she explains.
And then there are the young people who leave the country in silence. “Personally, I decided to emigrate because I no longer have any hope. I have tolerated a lot. I do not want to waste my life because I only live once on Earth and I prefer to look at the world. I prefer to visit the whole world,” concludes a playwright and director.
For the half of Iranians who do not vote, the name of the new president they will know on July 5, at the end of the second round, has no kind of importance.