The Presidential Elections in Iran Started Normally

On Friday, nearly 60 million Iranians are expected to elect president, municipal councilors, lawmakers, and members of the Assembly of Experts on Islamic Law. Polling stations will be open from 07:00 am to 05:00 pm (local time).

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Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei cast his vote in a ballot box specially installed in a mosque adjoining his offices in Tehran. After doing so, he urged the citizens to follow his example.

"The sooner you do this task and duty, the better. Everything the Iranian people do today, going to the polls and voting, serves to build their future."

The winning candidate will assume the presidency in August and will replace Hasan Rouhani, who has served two consecutive four-year presidential terms.

Over 680 politicians initially aspired to run as presidential candidates. After the qualification processes established by the constitution and Iranian laws, seven of them were qualified as presidential candidates but three withdrew.

The most likely candidate to win the presidential race would appear to be Sayyed Ebrahim Raeisi, a lawyer who has been the chief of Iran’s Judiciary since 2019. Currently, he also serves as the head of the Expediency Council.

His rivals are Albdolnasser Hemmati, former governor of the Central Bank; Mohsen Rezaei, the current secretary of the Council of Discernment and former commander of the Revolutionary Guard; and Amirhosein Qazizadeh Hashemi, the conservative First Deputy Speaker of Parliament.