Iranians Go To The Polls To Replace President Killed In Helicopter Crash

Iranian women wait in line to vote at a polling station in a snap presidential election in Tehran on June 28.

Iranians will choose between mostly hard-line candidates to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his vote.

Elections in the Islamic republic are tightly controlled, with candidates being preselected by an unelected body dominated by hard-liners.

Iranians stand in a lie as they wait to vote at a polling station.

All four names on the ballot have been vetted and approved by the Guardians Council, an unelected constitutional watchdog whose members are directly and indirectly appointed by Khamenei.

 

Presidential candidate Masud Pezeshkian votes at a polling station.

The elections come at a time of growing frustration among many over a lack of freedoms, declining living standards, and a faltering economy.

A man casts his ballot as he holds a portrait of Raisi.

Raisi, who many Iranians refer to as the "Butcher of Tehran" for his alleged role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 when he was Tehran's deputy prosecutor, died along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials when their helicopter crashed on May 19.

Supporters gather around presidential candidate Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as he visits a holy shrine on election day.

The election appears to be a three-way race between conservative Parliament Speaker Qalibaf, hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and reformist lawmaker Pezeshkian.

A supporter of Jalili holds up a poster.

No candidate is expected to secure enough votes on June 28 to be declared the outright winner in the tightly controlled contest.

Iranians cast their vote at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad.

A candidate needs to win at least 50 percent of the votes to win the race. A potential run-off election has been scheduled for July 5.

An Iranian woman in Tehran casts her ballot.

The outcome of the election is unlikely to result in major policy shifts, but it could have an impact on the succession to the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989.

Iran has long maintained it derives its legitimacy from strong voter turnout, but poor participation in recent elections and deadly protests against the political establishment have challenged the legitimacy of the current leadership.
 

Dissidents at home and abroad have called for a boycott, arguing that voting in past elections has failed to deliver change.