Iranwire – As Iran’s 14th presidential election got underway, reports from citizen journalists painted a picture of low voter turnout across the country, contradicting claims made by state media.
Eyewitness accounts describe polling stations as “extremely quiet and silent” well into Friday afternoon.
In some cities, participation appears to be even lower than in recent parliamentary elections.
A video sent to IranWire shows a nearly empty polling station in southern Tehran, an area previously reported to have high voter enthusiasm.
The source said that officials were preventing citizens from documenting the lack of activity.
Former MP Mahmoud Sadeghi reported on social media that turnout at his local polling station was “much lower than expected” when he voted Friday morning.
In Saqqez, the hometown of Mahsa Amini, whose death sparked protests in 2022, a local journalist observed participation levels below those seen in parliamentary elections.
Reports from Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchistan province suggest minimal participation, limited primarily to those with direct ties to the government.
Videos show largely empty polling locations in the region.
These accounts stand in stark contrast to the narrative of enthusiastic voter participation being promoted by state-affiliated media outlets.
Iran opened polls on Friday for its 14th presidential election following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
The contenders are Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi from the fundamentalist faction, while Masoud Pezeshkian represents the reformist movement.
Two candidates, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Alireza Zakani, withdrew from the race to consolidate fundamentalist support.
Despite expectations, neither Ghalibaf nor Jalili stepped down in favor of the other.