Polling stations open in Iran for presidential elections

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranians on Friday head to the polling stations to elect the successor of late president Ebrahim Raisi, a month after he died in a helicopter crash.

The voting stations opened at 8 am local time (0430 GMT), according to the Iranian interior ministry.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the first person to cast a vote, calling on Iranians to do the same, stating that the poll will “shape the country’s future for the next several years.”

“We recommend that our dear people take the matter of voting and participating in this important political test seriously and participate,” state media IRNA quoted Khamenei as saying.

“The strength of the Islamic Republic lies in the presence of the people, and for the validity and honesty of the Islamic Republic, the presence of the people is necessary and essential,” he added.

The Guardian Council, the responsible body for the elections, approved six candidates to vie for the post: five ultraconservatives and one reformist. However, in the last two days before the elections, two candidates exited the race.

Alireza Zakani, an ultraconservative candidate from Tehran, announced his withdrawal from the race a day after the Iranian interior ministry announced the exit of Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, another ultraconservative candidate, leaving four names to compete for the post.

In his message on X, Zakani asked former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the current parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to “unite and not leave the rightful demands of the revolutionary forces unanswered.”

Zakani also urged the two candidates “to prevent the formation of Rouhani's third government,” alluding to the presence of the sole reformist candidate in the race, Massoud Pezeshkian, who is supported by former president Hassan Rouhani.

The polling stations will be open for 10 hours. Authorities might extend the duration similar to previous elections.

Hadi Tahan Nazif, the spokesperson of the Guardian Council, told journalists on Thursday that Friday’s poll will take place in 59,000 polling stations and over 95 countries. About 61 million people are eligible to cast their ballots.

In the Kurdistan Region, Iranian citizens will be able to cast their votes in Erbil and Sulaimani.

Earlier this month, Nasrollah Rashnoudi, Iran’s consul general to Erbil, told Rudaw that they are planning to set up one stationary ballot box in the consulate in Erbil and three mobile boxes for the cities of Soran and Duhok as well as the surrounding districts.

Ballot boxes are set in seven Iraqi cities, including the capital Baghdad and Karbala.

To win the election, a candidate must garner over 50 percent of the votes. If no candidate can win the required votes, a second round will be held on July 5.