FILE PHOTO: Presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian shows a victory sign during a campaign event in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2024.
Majid Asgharipur | Reuters
Iran has elected Masoud Pezeshkian as president, delivering an unexpected victory for the country’s reformists amid deep social discontent, economic hardship and regional war.
According to the Interior Ministry, local authorities reported that Pezeshkian won 16.3 million votes and that the election turnout was 49.8%. His rival Saeed Jalili, a hard-right former nuclear negotiator, ended the race with 13.5 million votes.
The 69-year-old Pezeshkian managed to defeat several other candidates, all staunch conservatives, although many analysts described him as a “token reformist” and a low profile among the contenders. “second-tier candidates”.
He is the most moderate candidate, having served as health minister from 1997 to 2005 under Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s last reformist president, who has supported him along with other reformist politicians. .
Pezeshkian has also served as a member of parliament since 2008 and is a member of the Islamic Shura Council and deputy speaker of parliament. He hopes to ease social restrictions such as Iran’s strict headscarf law and improve relations with the West, including possibly restarting nuclear talks with world powers.
On June 29, 2024, a vehicle drove past a billboard in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on which six presidential candidates (LR) Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Amir Husse By Saeed Jalili, Mostafa Pourmohammadi and Masoud Pezeshkianin face.
Atakenare | AFP | Getty Images
Is fundamental change unlikely to occur?
Iran’s new president will have to contend with whoever occupies the White House in November. This clearly raises the stakes for Tehran and Washington, as well as the Middle East, as Iran moves closer than ever to nuclear bomb production capabilities and continues to support proxy groups fighting Israel.
Iran’s president is influential on foreign policy and war issues and is the country’s public ambassador. But power and key decisions in Iran ultimately rest in the hands of unelected institutions such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards.
“While elections may lead to changes in the priorities, tone and tactics of Iran’s domestic and foreign policy, fundamental changes to the status quo are unlikely,” said Sina Toossi, senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy. National CBC News.
“The core principles that guide Iran’s strategic decisions, particularly those involving the United States and Israel, are firmly rooted in the broader framework set by the Supreme Leader and influential institutions such as the Revolutionary Guards,” he said.
Pezeshkian’s victory “could open the way to new diplomatic engagement and slightly more progressive domestic policies. However,” Tosi said, “even with a reformist president, the extent of change will be limited by the overall power that determines Iran’s political landscape.” Limitations of structural and strategic imperatives.
Iran’s elections were held after former President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
Iran’s elections are not considered free or fair, Because the country’s ultraconservative Guardian Council ultimately decides who can stand in the election. Voting is open to some 61 million eligible Iranians, but many have pledged to boycott, citing a lack of real choice for voters.
The Council approved only six candidates from a list of 80 registrants to run for president in this election, and all female registrants were disqualified. Of the six approved candidates, five are hardline conservatives and three are subject to sanctions from Western governments.
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