Iranians vote in run-off as voter apathy grows

Voters in Iran are going to the polls in a run-off election to choose a successor to late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May along with the foreign minister and other officials.

The two contenders are Saeed Jalili, 58, a hard-liner who is a former negotiator with the West over Iran's contentious nuclear program, and Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, a heart surgeon and reformist politician who was health minister from 2001 to 2005.

State TV said polling stations opened their doors to voters at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT/UTC). Voting is officially scheduled to end at 6 p.m. (1430 GMT), but it is usually extended until as late as midnight.

The final result will be announced on Saturday, although preliminary figures may come out sooner.

There are some 60,000 polling stations and more than 61 million eligible voters in Iran amid a population of 85 million.

Low-stakes election

While neither man is expected to bring big changes to Iran's domestic or foreign policies if he wins, with the main power resting in the hands of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian president will play a role in selecting the latter's successor.

Analysts say, however, that a win by Jalili, who has often voiced his hostility toward the West,  could bring an even more antagonistic domestic and foreign policy on the part of Tehran.

They say that Pezeshkian, who won some 10% more votes than Jalili in the first round, might advocate a milder foreign policy, be more open to reviving negotiations with major powers to restore the nuclear pact and be more liberal in his approach to social issues such as the mandatory wearing of headscarfs by women.

Likely voter apathy

The run-off vote, called after neither man won more 50% of all votes cast a June 28 ballot that saw a record low turnout of just 40%, comes amid heightened regional tensions over the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The country is also under continued pressure from the West over its nuclear program, which many countries fear might be a pretext for the production of nuclear weapons.

On the domestic front, Iran is contending with an ailing economy amid long mismanagement and state corruption and sanctions reimposed since 2018 after the US withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear treaty with six world powers.

Turnout at Iranian elections has plunged in the past four years, with critics saying this reflects falling support for the country's theocratic rule as economic hardships increase and political and social freedoms are tightly curbed.

The 2021 election that brought Raisi to power saw a turnout of just 48% and a parliamentary election in March a mere 41%.

 tj/kb (Reuters, AP)