Reportedly, the vote counting has ended and the rival
candidates have been informed about the result. Pezeshkian is around three
million votes ahead of his hardline rival Saeed Jalili.
Earlier, the interior ministry said that Pezeshkian was
leading the race in early results, adding that the initial reports showed
turnout was around 50%, higher than the first round.
The run-off follows a June 28 ballot with historically
low turnout, when over 60% of Iranian voters abstained from the snap election
for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, following his death in a helicopter
crash.
The
vote is a tight race between low-key lawmaker Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in
the original field of four candidates, and hardline former nuclear
negotiator Jalili, a staunch advocate of deepening ties with Russia and
China.
Videos on social media showed supporters of Pezeshkian
dancing in streets in several cities and motorists honking car horns to cheer
his victory.
People in the northwestern city of Urmia, Pezeshkian's
hometown, were handing sweets out on the streets.
While
the election is expected to have little impact on the Islamic Republic's
policies, the president will be closely involved in selecting the successor
to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's 85-year-old Supreme Leader who calls all the
shots on top matters of state.
Western media says, voter turnout has plunged over the past
four years, which underlines that support for clerical rule has eroded at a
time of growing public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on
political and social freedoms.
Only 48% of voters participated in the 2021 election that
brought Raisi to power, and turnout was 41% in a parliamentary election in
March.
The election coincides with escalating Middle East tensions
due to the war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and
Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its
fast-advancing uranium enrichment program.
"Voting gives power ... even if there are criticisms,
people should vote as each vote is like a missile launch (against
enemies)," said Iran's Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali
Hajizadeh.
The
next president is not expected to produce any major policy shift on the nuclear
program or change in support for militia groups across the Middle East, but he
runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran's foreign and
domestic policy.
Election rivals Jalili and Pezeshkian are establishment men
loyal to Iran's theocracy. But analysts said a win by the anti-Western Jalili
would signal a potentially an even more authoritarian domestic policy and
antagonistic foreign policy.
A
triumph by Pezeshkian might promote a pragmatic foreign policy, ease tensions
over now-stalled negotiations with major powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal,
and improve prospects for social liberalization and political pluralism.
However, many voters are skeptical about Pezeshkian's
ability to fulfil his campaign promises as the former health minister has
publicly stated that he had no intention of confronting Iran's power elite of
clerics and security hawks.
