Pezeshkian and Jalili advanced to the second round of voting in the presidential elections in Iran

In the Iranian elections, reformist MP Masoud Pezeshkian and hardline supporter Saeed Jalili are advancing to the second round of the presidential elections, which will take place on July 5.

The decision was announced on June 29 on state television by Mohsen Eslami, a representative of Iran’s electoral headquarters, following the vote count that took place the day before.

According to the counts, reformist MP Masoud Pezeshkian has a small but growing lead over three other candidates. Pezeshkian received 43.5 percent of the votes, ahead of uncompromising former nuclear negotiations participant Saeed Jalili, who garnered 37.7 percent. Conservative Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the former speaker of parliament, trails with 14 percent.

The fourth approved candidate, Mostafa Purmohammadi – a former minister of justice and interior, significantly lagged behind his rivals.

All four candidates were vetted and approved by the Guardian Council, whose members are directly or indirectly appointed by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The election results are unlikely to lead to significant political changes in the country, but the winner may in the future succeed the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has been the Supreme Leader since 1989.