The second round of the Iranian presidential elections commenced early Friday morning, featuring candidates Saeed Jalili from the conservative movement and Masoud Pezeshkian from the reformist movement.

At the start of voting, Iranian Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei cast his ballot at a polling station in the capital, Tehran.

Sayyed Khamenei emphasized the importance of the Iranian people exercising their "will and determination" to conclude the electoral process and elect a new president for the republic, adding that there is greater incentive than ever for people to participate in the elections.

"I've heard that people's enthusiasm and interest have increased more than before," he added, hoping that would be the case. 

Iranian Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei casts his vote for the presidential runoff election in #Tehran. #Iranelections2024 pic.twitter.com/cX97o72Yfk

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 5, 2024

In turn, the acting Iranian president, Mohammad Mokhber, confirmed that there was a better turnout than the first round of elections, about an hour after the ballot boxes were opened. On the other hand, Mokhber reassured the Iranian people that the government was neutral between the two candidates in the elections.

This comes after Iran entered a phase of electoral silence on Thursday after the two candidates intensified their campaigns and electoral rallies to attract voters’ votes.

'Enemies will not eliminate the Islamic Republic': Jalili 

Jalili addressed the people of Qazvin on Wednesday, emphasizing in his speech that "no matter how much our enemies deploy their capabilities, they will not succeed in eliminating the Islamic Republic."

He added, "When Biden mentioned during his meeting with several rabbis that they exerted all their power to pressure the Islamic Republic, it implies 'they cannot defeat it.'"

In his speech at an election rally in Heydarnia Stadium in Tehran on Wednesday, Pezeshkian emphasized that he would vigorously defend everyone's rights "for as long as I live." He reiterated his belief that Iran should be governed by all Iranians, not by any particular group or movement.

The first round of the presidential elections in Iran took place last Friday with four candidates: Saeed Jalili, Masoud Pezeshkian, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi.

About 24 million voters, constituting 40% of eligible voters, participated in the elections. However, none of the candidates secured an absolute majority, leading to a second round between the top two candidates: Pezeshkian, who received 10,415,991 votes, and Jalili, who received 9,473,298 votes.