New Delhi

Polls opened in Iran on Friday (July 5) in a presidential runoff a week after the first round of presidential elections on June 28 that was made necessary after President Ebrahim Raisi's death in a plane crash a month ago. 

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The runoff on July 5 is being held between reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, and 58-year-old hardliner Saeed Jalili since neither of the two secured more than 50 per cent votes. 

The structure of power in Iran: How is it different?

Iran has a president and a parliament (Majlis). But unlike modern-day democracies, in Iran, one Supreme Leader exerts both ideological and political control of the entire elected power structure.

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In 1989, the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution. Khomeini and Khamenei are the only two men to have held the office since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

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Iran's present-day constitution empowers the Supreme Leader with decisive controls to set the tone and direction of country's domestic and foreign policies. He also appoints, and can summarily dismiss, six of the twelve members of the Council of Guardians, the powerful body that can veto parliamentary decisions and determines which candidates are qualified to run for public office.

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Iran elections 2024: Powers of a president

The Supreme Leader is the final arbiter in Tehran's corridors of power. The president is supposed to negotiate with Supreme Leader on all major policy decisions.

Also read | The Capitals: Tehran delivers reformist election whisper before runoff; and more

The president has a certain amount of executive power and the day-to-day running of the system. But the broader policymaking must essentially be in line with the overall ideology of the Islamic republic.

Masoud Pezeshkian Vs Saeed Jalili: The runoff battle

A total of six candidates, five of whom were deemed hardliners, were declared for the presidential ballot. But the two backed off a day before polling to purportedly ensure more decisive support to the candidate most favourable for the "ideology of Islamic republic. 

The lone reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian managed to lead past hardliner and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili. But in case of a runoff, the supporters of two other conservative candidates from the first round are likely to vote for Jalili, making a return of reformist as Iran's president rather difficult.

Also read | Iranians vote in snap polls with hopes of better economy, regional stability

But the silver-lining for Pezeshkian, cardiac surgeon, lies in two factors. One, the conventional support for a reformist candidate among the Iranian urban dwellers and middle class, some of whom call for better ties with the global powers to escape the impact of crippling US economic sanctions. 

Second, it's the voter turnout.

Also watch | Iran's run-off elections on Friday, who will the poor turnout favour?

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The first round of voting saw just about 40 per cent of all registered voters turning out to vote, the lowest since 1979 revolution. The densest numbers of voters turned out at rural polling centers, where conservatives reign supreme.

If Pezeshkian manages to get more Iranians out of their homes on runoff day, he may still stand a chance.