Iran holds snap presidential election following Raisi’s death
Story from Ibraheem El-Tafseer
Four candidates are in the race to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Polls for the 14th presidential election opened at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Friday.
Mohsen Eslami, spokesperson for Iran’s election headquarters, announced that the voting hours have been extended for two more hours.
Due to the high turnout of people in the election across the country, the voting hours will be extended to midnight (2030 GMT), Eslami announced.
He had earlier announced two 2-hour extensions. The polls were initially set to close at 6:00 p.m. (1430 GMT) with Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi having the authority to extend the time if necessary.
Neptune Prime gathered that despite the sweltering heat in Tehran, residents are queuing up to cast their votes, Tehran Governor Alireza Fakhari told reporters.
It’s a common practice among Tehran’s populace to wait until evening hours to vote, he added.
“The turnout at the polls in Tehran province is notably meaningful and significant,” he said, adding that this participation will yield yet another triumph in this political test.
Over 61 million individuals are eligible to vote. Balloting is taking place at 58,640 locations nationwide, primarily in educational and religious sites.
Initial estimates of the election outcome are anticipated by Saturday morning, with the conclusive tally expected by Sunday.
Should no candidate achieve an outright majority in Friday’s election, a runoff between the leading two contenders is scheduled for July 5, with the victor holding office for a term of four years.
The snap election has been prompted by the loss of former President Ebrahim Raiesi in a helicopter crash.
The former Iranian president, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others died on May 19, when their helicopter crashed in foggy weather in the mountains near the northwestern border with Azerbaijan. Their bodies were found the following day after a massive search operation.
Early presidential election is required under Articles 131 and 132 of Iran’s Constitution which stipulate that a new president should be elected by public votes within a maximum of 50 days from the day when a president dies or is incapacitated.
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