Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, urged voters to cast ballots in Friday’s presidential election, claiming that the historically low turnout in the first round was not a sign of a move “against the system.”
Following their strong showing in the first round of the election last week, ultraconservative Saeed Jalili and reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian will square off in a race sparked by the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.
The first round of Iran’s presidential election saw the lowest voter turnout since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, with only 40% of the country’s 61 million registered voters casting ballots.
It is “completely wrong to think that those who did not vote in the first round are against the system,” Khamenei declared in a state TV program.
Therefore, “participation was not as expected,” the Iranian supreme leader Khamenei said.
With 42.4 percent of the vote, Pezeshkian defeated former nuclear negotiator Jalili with 38.6 percent.
A runoff round has been scheduled on Friday since none of the candidates received more than 50% of the total votes.
“There should be more participation in the second round of the presidential election,” Khamenei declared.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the conservative parliament, has urged supporters to support Jalili in the runoff. Ghalibaf received 13.8 percent of the vote in the first round and was not eligible for Friday’s poll.
Two ultraconservative contenders who had withdrew from the contest also endorsed Jalili.
Reformist leaders have gathered in support of Pezeshkian, including former president Muhammad Khatami.
Voters should turn out in big numbers, Khatami advised, in order to “avoid making the situation worse” in Iran.
The elections will take place in the context of increased regional tensions after the Gaza War, a disagreement with the West on Iran’s nuclear program, and public unhappiness with the state of Iran’s economy as a result of sanctions.
