Tehran, 29 June 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian and conservative hardliner Saeed Jalili will go to a run-off in Iran's presidential election next week, after record low turnout in the first round.

Pezeshkian received 42.5% of the vote and Jalili followed at 38.7%. As neither achieved an absolute majority, the run-off will take place on July 5, the country's electoral authority said.

There were two other candidates in the race: current parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf garnered nearly 14% of the vote while cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi got less than 1%.

Some 61 million voters in Iran were eligible to elect a successor to hardliner Ebrahim Raisi on Friday, after he died in a helicopter crash in May.

Out of a total of 80 candidates, the Guardian Council, a powerful Islamic supervisory body that vets the hopefuls, had only authorized six candidates for the election.

Two of six later withdrew, leaving three conservatives and the one moderate, Pezeshkian. Jalili is a loyal supporter of the leaders at the top of the Islamic Republic's system of power.

The electoral authorities counted a total of just over 24 million votes cast on Friday. That puts turnout at a historically low 40%. In the last presidential election in 2021, it was around 49%.

The polling stations were scheduled to close at 6 pm on Friday, but the authorities then extended voting until midnight to allow more people to take part.

The election comes amid a severe economic crisis, as well as tensions with the West and regional powers in the Middle East. Frustration among the public with the enforcement of state authority, especially among the younger population, is running high.

Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in the possibility of seeing major political change at home.

The death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in autumn 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule, but the protests were quashed with harsh punishments for demonstrators.

The president is only number two in Iran's power structure as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters. He is also commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces.

Deadly attack on election vehicle

Unknown assailants attacked a vehicle belonging to election workers in south-eastern Iran late Friday, killing two security personnel.

The incident took place in Sistan and Baluchestan Province as ballots were being transported to the city of Rask.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Sunni militant separatist group Jaish al-Adl is active in the province and have stepped up their attacks in the area. Both Iran and the United States classify Jaish al-Adl as a terrorist organization.

Photo: EPA