According to preliminary data, the Turkish-speaking candidate is leading in the presidential election race of Iran. 2nd round is expected

According to the preliminary results of yesterday's presidential elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the reformist candidate, Turkic-speaking Masoud Pezeshkian, is in the lead.According to "Detq", the Iranian state IRNA news agency informs about this, referring to the statement of the Central Election Commission of Iran.

It is reported that Pezeshkian was ahead of his conservative rivals by more than 18 million votes. In total, Pezeshkian received 8,302,577 votes, conservatives Sayid Jalil - 7,189,756, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf - 2,676,512, and Mustafa Pourmohammadi - 158,314.

It should be noted that although the counting of votes continues, none of the candidates managed to get more than half of the votes, so it is assumed that the election of the president of Iran will be moved to the 2nd round. The second round of elections will take place on July 5, where Masoud Pezeshkian and Sayid Jalili will fight.

The reformist Pezeshkian has a softer approach to relations with the West and, if elected, has promised to restore the Iran nuclear deal and "open" Iran to the world.

Let's remind that the extraordinary presidential elections in Iran were held yesterday, June 28. Polling stations opened at 08:00, and voting continued until 00:00. The early elections were called after the Iranian presidential helicopter crashed on May 19, killing President Ebrahim Raisi.