Iranians headed back to the ballot box on Friday in a run-off presidential election that pitted reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against hardliner Saeed Jalili after last week's vote failed to produce a clear winner.
Some 61 million people were eligible to vote for a successor to president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot and urged the entire nation to take part in the vote, following a first round where turnout hit a record low 40%.
"God willing, we will have a president tomorrow," Khamenei said in the capital Tehran.
Polling stations were supposed to closed at 6 pm (1430 GMT). However, as expected, authorities allowed them to stay open later in many places.
The first results were expected on Saturday.
None of the candidates gained an absolute majority in the first vote on June 28. Pezeshkian gained around 42.5% of the vote and Jalili won 38.7%.
Out of a total of 80 candidates, the Guardian Council, a powerful Islamic supervisory body that vets the hopefuls, had only authorized six candidates for the election.
Two of six later withdrew, leaving three conservatives and the one more moderate candidate, Pezeshkian. Jalili is a loyal supporter of the leaders at the top of the Islamic Republic's system of power.
The president is only number two in Iran's power structure as Supreme Leader Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters. He is also commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces.
Voter apathy grows
The election comes amid a severe economic crisis, as well as tensions with the West and regional powers in the Middle East. Frustration among the public with the enforcement of state authority, especially among the younger population, is running high.
Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in the possibility of seeing major political change at home.
The death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in autumn 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule, but the protests were quashed with harsh punishments for demonstrators.
Numerous people boycotted Friday's election.
"The difference between the two candidates is ultimately limited to small things that have no impact on the economy and people's lives," said Asghar, a 40-year-old supermarket employee in the capital Tehran.
Hesam, a student, described the election campaign and the TV debates as staged.
Conservative reformer vs hardline insider
Pezeshkian, 69, comes from north-west Iran and ran a low-key campaign calling for renewed trust between the government and Iranians, many of whom have become disillusioned with politics after failed attempts at reform, political repression and an economic crisis.
In the early 1990s, Pezeshkian lost his wife and one of his sons in a road accident. He often appeared at his campaign rallies with his daughter and grandchild.
In the TV debates, he described himself as a conservative politician who believes reforms are necessary. Like many politicians from the reformist camp, Pezeshkian has called for improved in relations with the West.
He criticized Iran's strict headscarf requirements for women and campaigned for votes with middle-class positions. He said he was opposed to internet censorship.
Pezeshkian expressed his loyalty to Khamenei and the powerful Revolutionary Guards, but he said reforms were needed.
Critics say that, even if he wins, he will have trouble implementing these reforms due to a majority of hardliners in parliament.
The second-placed Jalili was an early member of the inner circle of power and worked in the office of Khamenei.
Under the controversial former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Jalili was chief negotiator in the nuclear negotiations. He enjoys broad support from radical and loyal supporters of the system.
He holds a doctorate in political science and comes from the north-eastern city of Mashhad.
During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Jalili was wounded at the front and lost part of his right leg. After the war, he taught in the capital Tehran before embarking on a career in the Foreign Ministry.
Jalili is considered a staunch supporter of the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
