Voting for the Fourteenth Presidential Election in Iran Begins

Voting for the fourteenth presidential election in Iran began across the country on Friday, July 8. According to the head of the 'Country Election Headquarters', 61 million 452 thousand 321 people are eligible to vote in the presidential election on Friday. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, cast his vote in box 110 early on Friday morning. Hours before the voting began and following rumors about the withdrawal of one of the conservative candidates, the spokesperson for the 'Country Election Headquarters' announced that the election would proceed with four candidates. Mohsen Islami, the spokesperson, stated: 'As of this moment, no new withdrawals have been reported to the Country Election Headquarters, and Masoud Pezeshkian, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Saeed Jalili, and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf remain the final candidates.' This election official denied the withdrawal of some presidential candidates, asserting that 'all four candidates are still in the race.' Reports from Iranian media indicate that multiple meetings among conservatives on Wednesday and Thursday to unify their two main candidates, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Saeed Jalili, yielded no results by the end of Thursday. In this context, Ali Nikzad, Qalibaf's campaign head, also stated that Qalibaf 'will not withdraw.' According to reports from media close to these two conservative candidates, associates of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Saeed Jalili each claim to be in a better position in polls compared to the other, and their withdrawal would benefit Masoud Pezeshkian, the reformist candidate. As voting for the fourteenth presidential election in Iran begins, Jalili's campaign and supporters worked on Thursday night and Friday morning to deny rumors of his withdrawal. The rumor of Saeed Jalili's withdrawal in favor of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf prompted a strong reaction from Jalili's campaign. The legal committee of Jalili's campaign immediately warned that they would 'file complaints and pursue legal action' against all individuals, media, and pages that spread the rumor of Jalili's 'withdrawal' from the election. In this context, Mohsen Mansouri, head of Saeed Jalili's campaign, denied the rumors of Jalili's withdrawal on social media, stating that 'all conditions are moving in favor of' Jalili, 'do not worry, there is no withdrawal, victory is near.' Hamid Rasai, a new parliament representative, also wrote regarding the rumor of his candidate's withdrawal: 'Nothing new has happened, except that Jalili is more determined than ever to stand by the people and will remain until the last moment. Pray that, as the leadership stated, what benefits the Islamic system occurs.' Rasai also shared a visual message from Jalili's campaign office, stating: 'Saeed Jalili will not withdraw under any circumstances, and do not pay attention to rumors.' While the presidential election is being held in Iran, several opponents, including political prisoners, have called for a boycott of the election, stating that it will not change the political situation in the country. Narges Mohammadi, a jailed human rights activist and Nobel laureate, Mojgan Ilanlou, a documentary filmmaker supporting the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, and Sepideh Rashno, a jailed translator, along with other well-known figures and groups such as the Association of Families of Victims of the November 2019 Protests, the Mothers of Mourning in Kurdistan, Fatemeh Sepahri, a political prisoner opposing the leader of the Islamic Republic, and Gohar Eshghi, a mourning mother, have also boycotted the election. An official from the U.S. government stated on Wednesday that the United States does not expect the presidential election in Iran to be 'free and fair' and does not foresee any 'fundamental' changes in the country.