Iranians go to the polls on Friday for the second round of presidential elections, pitting a reformist candidate who favors opening up to the West against a hardline conservative who was once a tough negotiator on the nuclear issue.
These elections, the first of which was held on June 28, were hastily organized to elect a president to replace Ibrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter accident on May 19.
The second session will be closely watched abroad because Iran, a powerful force in the Middle East, is at the center of many geopolitical crises, from the war in Gaza to the nuclear file, which has been a source of disagreement between the Islamic Republic and the West for several years. And the West.
The presidential elections are taking place between the reformist MP Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, who calls for Iran's openness to the West, and the former hard-line conservative nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, 58, who is known for his uncompromising stance in the face of Western powers.
In the first round of the election, which saw a high rate of abstention, Pezeshkian received 42.4% of the vote compared to 38.6% for Jalili. Another governor, Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf, came in third.
Pezeshkian was virtually unknown when he entered the presidential race, and he took advantage of the division among conservatives who could not agree on a single candidate.
But Ghalibaf called on his supporters to vote for Jalili in the second round. Pezeshkian enjoys the support of former reformist president Mohammad Khatami.
Opposition figures in Iran and in the diaspora called for a boycott of the election, arguing that the conservative and reformist camps are two sides of the same coin.
Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old surgeon, represents Tabriz, the largest city in northwestern Iran. He has limited experience in government, limited to his position as Minister of Health between 2001 and 2005 in the government of President Khatami.
He is known for his outspokenness, as he did not hesitate to criticize the authorities during the widespread protest movement that rocked Iran following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in September 2022 after she was arrested for not adhering to the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.
During a televised debate on Monday night, the two opponents specifically discussed the country's economic difficulties, international relations, low voter turnout and government restrictions on the Internet.
"People are unhappy with us," Pezeshkian said, particularly because of the lack of representation of women and religious and ethnic minorities in politics.
He added, "When 60% of the population does not participate (in the elections), it means there is a problem" with the government.
For his part, Jalili expressed concern about the low turnout, but did not blame the authorities.
On the economic front, he said his government is capable of achieving 8% growth, compared to 5.7% between March 2023 and March 2024.
During the debate, Jalili expressed his opposition to any rapprochement between Iran and Western countries.
Jalili, the nuclear negotiator between 2007 and 2013, strongly opposed the deal that was eventually reached between Iran and major powers, including the United States, which imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
For his part, Pezeshkian announced that one of his government's priorities would be to revive the agreement, which has been frozen since Washington withdrew from it in 2018, in a unilateral move accompanied by the reimposition of sanctions.
Whatever the outcome of Friday's election, it will have a limited impact on the direction of the country because the president in Iran has limited powers. The primary responsibility for governance in the Islamic Republic lies with the Supreme Leader, who is considered the head of state. As the head of the government, the president is responsible for implementing the broad policy guidelines set by the Supreme Leader.
In the capital, Jawad Abdul Karimi, a 42-year-old cook, told AFP that he would vote on Friday but "I still don't know for whom," expressing hope that the new government would help slow the rise in inflation and the fall in the value of the national currency.
For her part, Fatima, a 75-year-old retiree, said she would abstain from voting, adding, "Both candidates (...) do not care at all about the people".
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