Voting is being held today for the presidential elections in Iran. The 14th Presidential Elections in the west Asian country were initially set to be held in 2025, but were rescheduled after President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash last month.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced the opening of the elections in a televised address. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cast the first ballot and made a brief speech calling for the unity of the Iranian people during elections.
The voting will be held at close to 59,000 polling stations in more than 95 states. Over 61 million people are eligible to vote in the election.
Parliamentary Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, former top negotiator for nuclear talks, Saeed Jalili, former Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi and former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian are in the race.
Current Vice President, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Mayor of Tehran Alireza Zakani withdrew from the race in favour of Qalibaf and Jalili.
Disclaimer: This press release is sourced from News On AIR, Prasar Bharti and Press Information Bureau India (PIB).
