Iranian pro-reform candidate Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that the low turnout in Iran’s presidential election was “unacceptable” and a sign of flaws in the system, while his hardline rival Saeed Jalili called for strategies to encourage greater voter participation.
The June 28 presidential election marked the lowest voter turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic, with only 39.92 percent participation. This breaks the previous record set during the last election, in which the late President Ebrahim Raisi won with a turnout of 48 percent.
In a televised debate ahead of the runoff election on July 5, Pezeshkian said the concerns of the 60 percent who abstained from voting should be addressed, stressing the importance of caring for all Iranians, especially women and ethnic groups.
Jalili said, "If the current situation is far from the desired level of public participation, we must motivate people with a plan to move towards the desired participation."
Both candidates tried to garner support from Sunni Muslims. Pezeshkian criticized the exclusion of Sunnis from key government positions. Jalili also pledged to restore Sunni rights if elected.
Foreign Policy and Sanctions
On foreign policy, Pezeshkian emphasized the importance of expanding Iran's international ties, prioritizing neighboring countries first and then other nations to achieve economic growth. He defended the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), and said why figures like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former US President Donald Trump, and Saudi Arabia opposed the deal if it was against Iran’s interests.
Pezeshkian highlighted the "huge" financial losses incurred without the nuclear agreement and urged adopting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations, comparing it to FIFA in international sports where non-compliance results in exclusion from global engagements.
Jalili criticized the focus on expansion of ties with just "three world powers" in the moderate faction's foreign policy, arguing that there are over 200 countries that Iran should engage with to seize various opportunities.
He said Iran currently sells "less than two million barrels of oil per day" at standard rates despite the US sanctions.
Pezeshkian asked why despite huge oil sales, the lives of ordinary Iranians remain "miserable".
"Why don't you tell the people at what rate you are selling the country's oil?" he asked.
Smear Campaigns
In another part of the debate, both candidates tried to address smear campaigns against them. Jalili had brought a thick pamphlet which he said was comprised of the articles published online against him. He claimed that supporters of Pezeshkian called his supporters “Taliban” while Pezeshkian said Jalili’s supporters called him “munafiq”.
In Islamic term Munafiq is a person who in public and in community shows that he is a Muslim but rejects Islam or speaks against it either in his heart or among the enemies of Islam. The hypocrisy itself is called nifāq.
Internet Censorship and Technology
Jalili said the already-restricted social media platforms (like Telegram, X, and Instagram) must comply with the Islamic Republic’s regulations to operate in Iran. The hardliner also pledged to significantly increase mobile and home internet speeds if elected.
Pezeshkian explicitly defended the Islamic Republic's restriction of internet and claimed that all governments impose internet restrictions during special times, such as protests or strikes. However, he argued that there is no justification for the current restrictions forcing citizens to rely on VPNs as there is no "special" situation in the country.
Final Words
Pezeshkian, a former health minister and deputy speaker of Parliament said Jalili lacked necessary qualifications to run the country.
"One who has not run even a department is not qualified to run an organization," Pezeshkian said.
Jalili referred his experience in the foreign ministry, and also as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
Pezeshkian said the Secretary was not the one who made top decisions, and those policies were the decided by Iran's leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
