Early Count In Iran Presidential Race Points To Runoff
The latest vote count in Iran’s snap presidential election shows the only reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, taking a slight lead in the race, Iranian state TV reported.
(Bloomberg) -- The latest ballot count in Iran’s snap presidential election shows a runoff is likely to take place next week between the only reformist candidate in the race and a staunchly anti-Western hardliner.
So far, Saeed Jalili, the most conservative candidate in the poll, has 4,266,386 votes and reformist Masoud Pezeshkian has 4,244,815, according to state TV.
Separately, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said “unofficial figures” show the election is likely to run into a second round between Jalili and Pezeshkian, amid projections of record-low participation.
Iran’s Election Overshadowed by Economic and Regional Turmoil
The semi-official Mehr news agency also projected that none of the candidates is likely to secure 50% of the votes, the threshold required for an outright win, and a runoff will be held on July 5.
Tasnim projected the overall turnout at about 40%, the lowest since presidential elections started in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The snap election was triggered after hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash last month.
(Updates with latest vote count from state TV in second paragraph)
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