AFTER no candidate secures the majority, Iran hold run-off elections.
Millions of Iranians will return to the polls on Friday, the 5th of July after all presidential candidates failed to secure more than 50% of the overall votes required by the law to declare a majority and select a winner.
Of Iran’s almost 90 million population, roughly 24.5 million cast their votes on Friday, the 28th of June, according to the election spokesman.
Of the four candidates, reformist lawmaker and heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian got the highest number of votes reaching roughly 10.4 million.
Former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, one of the three hardliner candidates with strong anti-Western views, ranked second with 9.4 million votes.
The two remaining candidates are due for a face-off on Friday, the 5th of July. Whoever secures the majority between the two will be declared the new president of Iran.
It can be remembered that two other hardline candidates quit the race one day before the official elections on June 28, citing efforts to “strengthen” the forces of the “revolution.”
The question remains if the runoff will change Iran’s foreign policy towards Russia, with both nations sharing close economic and military alliance, along with a sentiment of being bombarded with Western sanctions.
