Politics Frustration, hope, power struggle: Iran elects a new president
Following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran is electing a successor.
28.06.2024, 15:07
SDA
Religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei traditionally opened the election on Friday by casting his vote in the center of the capital Tehran.
The presidential election is characterized by a severe economic crisis, tensions with the West and frustration with state power and the government, especially among the younger population. The first results are expected on Saturday.
Around 61 million voters in the Islamic Republic are being called upon to elect a new head of government. Polling stations are open from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm local time (6.30 am to 4.30 pm CEST) with the possibility of an extension. The election follows the death of Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May. If none of the candidates wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the two strongest candidates will go into a run-off on July 5.
The so-called Guardian Council, a powerful Islamic supervisory body, had only approved six candidates for the election. However, two candidates withdrew. The so-called fundamentalists - loyal and arch-conservative supporters of the system - are the most strongly represented. Among them, there is a power struggle between the incumbent parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and the hardliner Said Jalili. The most important challenger is the moderate politician Massud Peseschkian.
Conservative camp divided - hope among reform politicians
Ghalibaf, a former general in the powerful Revolutionary Guards, is regarded as a conservative power politician. Jalili represents more radical positions. He was an early member of the inner circle of power and worked in the office of religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Under the controversial former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Jalili was chief negotiator in the nuclear negotiations. Until the very end, government supporters and fundamentalists had hoped to be able to agree on a top candidate.
The most dangerous challenger is the moderate politician and former health minister Massud Peseschkian. During the election campaign, the politician criticized the headscarf policy and campaigned for votes with middle-class positions. At the same time, Peseshkian expressed his loyalty to Khamenei and the powerful Revolutionary Guards and praised the drone and missile attacks on Israel as the pride of the Iranian nation. After casting his vote, he said: "We will try to maintain friendly relations with all countries except Israel."
With a high voter turnout, Peseshkian's chances should not be bad at all. Especially if there is a run-off and the Iranian people have to choose between a conservative and a reformer. The president has only limited power as head of government in Iran. The head of state is the 85-year-old religious leader Khamenei, who has the final say in all strategic matters.
Little hope of major domestic political changes
Most of the country's inhabitants, especially young people, have lost faith in major domestic political changes. The death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Masa Amini in the fall of 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule. Voter turnout in this year's parliamentary elections reached a record low of around 40 percent. However, more people traditionally vote in presidential elections. Some activists and the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi called for a boycott of the election.
During the election campaign, the candidates mainly debated ways to overcome the enormous economic crisis in the country. Iran is subject to international sanctions due to its controversial nuclear program and is largely cut off from the global financial system. The country needs billions in investment. The candidates also discussed domestic political issues, cultural policy and how to deal with the West.
Iran's political system has combined republican and theocratic features since the 1979 revolution. However, there are no free elections: the supervisory body of the Guardian Council always checks candidates for their suitability. Fundamental criticism of the system is not tolerated, as the suppression of protests in recent years has shown.
