Voting at early presidential elections has kicked off in Iran, Report informs.
Polling stations opened at 08:00 local time (08:30 Baku time).
Four candidates are vying for the post of head of state. The Guardian Council of the Iranian Constitution initially approved the applications of six politicians, but following Vice President Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, who announced on June 26 that he was withdrawing his candidacy in favor of the conservatives, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani made a similar decision on June 27.
He spoke out in support of two main candidates from the conservative wing - Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and the representative of the spiritual leader in the Supreme National Security Council of the republic Saeed Jalili. In addition to them, the race includes the conservative former head of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Justice Mostafa Pourmohammadi and the only candidate from the reformist camp - ex-Minister of Health Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to the latest results of opinion polls conducted by Iranian think tanks Mellat, ISPA and Shenaakht throughout the election campaign, Pezeshkian is currently in the lead.
Then, with a slight lag, Jalili and Ghalibaf took second and third places, respectively.
About 60,000 polling stations and 90,000 voting points will operate in Iran. At least 344 sites will be open to citizens who are outside the country.
Early elections are being held in the Islamic republic after the death of ex-president Seyed Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The helicopter, on board of which, in addition to Raisi, were high-ranking government officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, crashed on May 19 near the city of Varzaqan near the Iran-Azerbaijan border. All passengers and crew died.