![Iranian reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at his rally for 14th presidential elections in Tehran, Iran on July 03, 2024. [Fatemeh Bahrami - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AA-20240703-35047360-35047333-IRANS_PRESIDENTIAL_ELECTION_GOES_TO_RUNOFF.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
On the eve of Friday’s presidential runoff election in Iran, reformist candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, is ahead of his conservative opponent, Saeed Jalili, a leading polling agency said, Anadolu Agency reports.
The latest poll conducted by the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA), which is affiliated with the state-run Academic Centre for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR), suggests that Pezeshkian is the favourite to win the runoff vote.
Pezeshkian, a veteran lawmaker and former health minister, and Jalili, a former lead nuclear negotiator and head of the top security body, will face off in Friday’s election after securing the highest number of votes in the 28 June polls.
Pezeshkian bagged 10.4 million votes in the first round, while Jalili trailed behind with 9.4 million votes amid the lowest turnout – 40 per cent – since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
READ: Iran's Khamenei says turnout in presidential election was ‘lower than expected’
Released on Thursday, the latest ISPA poll was conducted on 3 July, after the two televised presidential debates, through face-to-face interviews with a sample size of 3,606 people across Iran.
Respondents were above 18 years of age.
Pezeshkian is projected to secure 49.5 per cent of the votes in the runoff election compared to Jalili’s 43.9 per cent.
Almost 4.8 per cent of voters are yet to decide their candidate’s choice, according to the poll, which could influence the final outcome.
The voter turnout is projected to be 45 per cent, higher than the 28 June election.
In the 2021 presidential election, when Ebrahim Raisi was elected by a landslide, the voter turnout was 48.8 per cent.
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in remarks on Wednesday, called for increased participation in Friday’s runoff election, saying voter turnout is the backbone of the Islamic Republic.
Both candidates, in the two televised debates and their field campaign events, made passionate appeals for greater turnout.
According to the poll, 34 per cent of people watched the first presidential debate on Monday and 39.8 per cent watched the second debate on Tuesday. A total of 46.5 per cent of people watched at least one of the presidential runoff debates.
READ: Iranians vote in presidential election with limited choices