Qalibaf Throws Weight Behind Jalili Ahead of Runoff Polls
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – After suffering a defeat in the Iranian presidential election for the fourth time in the past 19 years, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf voiced backing for Saeed Jalili, the principlist candidate who is going to lock horns with Masoud Pezeshkian in a runoff next Friday.
Iran held its 14th presidential election on Friday, June 28, a year ahead of schedule, after President Ebrahim Raisi passed away in a helicopter crash in May.
Pezeshkian and Jalili garnered the highest number of votes and will face off in a showdown next Friday, July 5.
The two other candidates, namely Qalibaf and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, won 13.78% and 0.84% of the votes, respectively.
Qalibaf, the incumbent speaker of the Iranian Parliament, had already tested his luck in the presidential races in 2005, 2013, and 2017, all to no avail.
The former Iranian Police chief was expecting a walkover considering the withdrawal of two other principlist figures from the race, namely Alireza Zakani and Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi.
Qalibaf conceded defeat in a statement released on Saturday, saying the road has not ended yet.
The Parliament speaker said he has respect for Pezeshkian, but is worried about a number of the former health minister’s associates.
“I call on all revolutionary forces and my supporters to help prevent a current, which is the cause of a major part of our economic and political problems today, from returning to power,” Qalibaf said, hinting at the administration of former President Hassan Rouhani.
“Therefore, we must all try to elect the candidate of the Revolution’s front, Dr. Jalili, as the president of the 14th administration,” he added.
The voter turnout in Friday’s election stood at 39.92, as over 61,452,000 people were eligible to vote.
The polls were held at around 59,000 polling stations across the country and 340 polling stations in 100 foreign countries.