Khamenei calls for a large turnout in the “very important” second round of the presidential elections in Iran

3 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday called on people to vote in the second round of presidential elections on Friday, which he described as “very important” and in which reformist Masud Pezeshkian will face off against conservative Said Jalili.

Khamenei said during a meeting with professors at a university in the capital, Tehran, that “this election is very important” and that “those who love Islam, the Islamic Republic, progress and improving the situation in the country and overcoming shortcomings must demonstrate this interest by participating in the elections.”

He acknowledged that the turnout in the first round – when it stood at 40 percent, the lowest since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 – was “lower than expected.” “There are reasons for this matter that are being investigated by politicians and sociologists,” he said, according to a statement published by his office on its website.

However, he ruled out the idea that people did not go to vote because they are against the Islamic system in the country and argued that “although there are people who will not like the candidates or even the system, the mentality that everyone who did not vote did so because they think that way is totally wrong.”

“Many people have problems or jobs and did not participate for other reasons. God willing, in this second round people will go to the polls, which will be a source of honour for the system,” Khamenei said, adding that “the greater, clearer and more evident the participation, the more capable the system will be of achieving its national goals and achieving its goals for the development of the country.”

Pezeshkian was the candidate with the most votes in the first round but failed to secure the 50 percent plus one vote needed to secure an outright victory. Jalili now has the backing of the entire conservative front for the second round of these elections, brought forward by the death in May of the then president, the ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter accident.