Presidential elections are held in Iran today. The elections were brought forward because the president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
The former mayor of the capital Tehran is considered the early favorite Mohammad Baqer Qalibafi, which has close ties to the influential Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. There were six candidates in the election, but two ultra-conservative candidates recently withdrew from the race.
There is also a candidate for reform Massoud Pezeshkian. Among other things, he has demanded that Iran improve its relations with the United States so that the sanctions crippling the country’s economy could be removed.
Iranians interviewed by AFP seemed divided on whether voting in Friday’s election will ultimately make a difference.
– There is no question that I would vote, said the engineer, who appeared only by his first name Neda in North Tehran.
Instead, a 60-year-old housewife Jaleh said that he supports the reformist Pezeshkian, who comes from “the ranks of the people”. According to Jaleh, this would be possible to tackle poverty and unemployment.
Iran’s economy has recently suffered from high inflation and unemployment. The country’s foreign policy has been tense due to, for example, the Gaza war and Iran’s nuclear program.
Source: AFP