Dubai –
The moderate candidate has topped the vote count in Iran’s snap presidential election, amid a tightly controlled field of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader, at a time of mounting public frustration and Western pressure.
With more than 3.8 million ballots counted so far from Friday’s election, Massoud Pezeshkian has won more than 1,595,000 votes and his tough challenger, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, about 1,594,000, Interior Ministry official Mohsen Eslami told state television early Saturday.
According to some insiders, the turnout was around 40%, lower than expected by Iranian spiritual leaders. However, witnesses said polling stations in Tehran and some other cities were not crowded.
