Polling stations opened across Iran on Friday for a run-off presidential election to elect a successor to the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in May. This run-off follows a first round of voting in which no candidate secured an outright victory.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot early, urging citizens to participate in the election. “God willing, our dear people will succeed in voting and choosing the best. At this stage, people should naturally be more determined because they are completing the task,” Khamenei told reporters in Tehran. “Tomorrow, God willing, we will have our president,” he added.

With over 60 million eligible voters, the election is crucial for Iran's political future. “We are starting the second round of the 14th presidential election to choose the future president from among the two candidates across 58,638 polling stations in the country and all stations abroad," stated Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi, according to Iranian state TV.

In the first round held last week, Masoud Pezeshkian, the lone reformist candidate, received 10.41 million votes, while his ultraconservative rival, Saeed Jalili, garnered 9.47 million out of the 24.5 million votes counted, as reported by the state-owned IRNA news agency. The low voter turnout of about 40 percent was the lowest ever recorded since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

Ahead of the run-off, Khamenei called for increased voter participation, highlighting the importance of a robust electoral process. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament who also ran in the first round, secured 3.38 million votes. Following his defeat, Ghalibaf endorsed Jalili, urging his supporters to vote for him in the run-off.

The run-off election is necessary as no candidate achieved the required 50 percent plus one vote to win outright in the first round. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes in Friday’s election will be declared the new president.

The election was initially scheduled for 2025 but was brought forward following the death of President Raisi in a helicopter crash in May, which also claimed the lives of several other officials, including the late Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

As the nation votes, the world watches closely to see who will lead Iran through its next chapter.