Azerbaijani candidate leads in Iran's presidential election

Iran's former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian is in the lead in Iran early presidential election with ballots counted at most polling stations, Election Headquarters Spokesperson Mohsen Eslami said.

According to the election official, with 19 mln votes counted, Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate, received 8.3 mln votes, while the Iranian supreme leader’s representative in the national Security Council Saeed Jalili garnered 7.2 mln.

They are followed by two conservative candidates - the parliament’s Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former interior and justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi.

The total number of voters stands at 61 mln.

A presidential contender needs to secure over 50% of the vote in order to win in the first round; otherwise a runoff between the top two candidates will be held in a week. If the runoff takes place, it will be held on July 5.