Preliminary results unfolding in Iranian Presidential elections
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Preliminary results, amid ongoing vote counting, show reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshikian leading the Iranian Presidential election results ahead of conservative candidate Saeed Jalili.
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A man fills out his ballot as others line up during the presidential election in a polling station at the shrine of Saint Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP)
The Iranian Ministry of Interior announced that after counting 23,646,138 votes, candidate Masoud Pezeshkian received 12,704,910 votes while candidate Saeed Jalili received 10,474,238 votes.
Earlier in the night, the spokesperson for the Iranian Election Committee, Mohsen Islami, announced in a press conference that after counting 9,699,843 votes, Pezeshkian received more than 4,996,364 votes, while Jalili received more than 4,526,960 votes.
According to Al Mayadeen's correspondent, the voter turnout in the second round of the Iranian presidential elections reached 49.6%. Ehsan Bisadi, speaking to Al Mayadeen, indicated unofficial figures suggest that reformist Pezekshian is leading over his conservative competitor Jalili and is heading towards victory in this election round.
The Al Mayadeen correspondent noted that preliminary data indicates the reformist candidate is advancing in major cities, while the conservative candidate is leading in rural areas.
Polling stations across Iran and abroad closed at midnight, marking the end of the voting process in the 2024 presidential elections. Vote counting has commenced to elect a new president, according to the Iranian Ministry of Interior's Election Committee.
As such, the second round of the presidential elections was officially concluded after being extended twice, each time for two hours beyond the initial closing time of 8:00 PM. There was a significant turnout among Iranians exceeding 50%, surpassing the turnout in the first round, according to Al Mayadeen's correspondent.
Therefore, more than 30 million Iranians out of approximately 61 million eligible voters cast their votes, on Friday, at 58,638 polling stations across the country, in addition to polling stations in centers and embassies abroad. IRNA agency confirmed that the second round "witnessed increased Iranian presence at polling stations."
Alireza Mahmoudi, head of the Foreign Ministry's foreign election headquarters, speaking to IRNA, said: "We saw a 20 percent increase in attendance in the second round, which is why two boxes were added at two Spanish agencies and Najaf airport."
Another branch was also added at the US-Canada border, he said, at the Protection of Interests office in Washington.
Read more: Turnout in Iran's presidential runoff surpasses first round
