How a reformist managed to connect with Iranians and get them to vote

Enough Iranians overcame deep antagonism toward the Islamic Republic to elect a reformist, Masoud Pezeshkian, as president on July 5, raising modest hopes of improved living conditions and Iran’s reengagement with the West.

In a first round of voting marked by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Dr. Pezeshkian’s mantra of “saving Iran” and improving the economy by easing U.S. sanctions lifted him above the rest.

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The only reformist candidate allowed to run in Iran’s presidential election has faced serious obstacles, including a population reluctant to lend legitimacy to the regime by voting. But his image as an ordinary man and his message of improving living conditions have resonated.

Calls to boycott the vote had been launched following months of protests sparked in September 2022 by the killing in custody of a young woman. Yet some 10 million more Iranians voted in the runoff, decisively choosing the reformist heart surgeon over his hard-line opponent.

Dr. Pezeshkian has successfully captured the persona of an ordinary man, far from elitist circles and “very different from other (previous) reformist candidates,” says Adnan Tabatabai, an Iran expert in Bonn, Germany.

“What’s really different this time is that the overall picture is clear: If you let the most radical minds rule the country in its entirety, the result will be catastrophic and will get even worse,” said a longtime observer in Tehran who asked not to be identified. “And that’s obviously something that voters are interested in.”

Enough Iranians overcame deep antagonism toward the Islamic Republic to elect a reformist president on July 5, ending years of hardline rule and raising modest hopes both for improved living conditions and a revival of Iran’s relations with the United States and the West.

Masoud Pezeshkian’s mantra of “saving Iran” and improving the economy by easing U.S.-led Western sanctions lifted him above a field of conservative and hardline candidates in the June 28 first round of voting.

It was a real affront to the regime, as well as the lowest turnout ever recorded – just below 40% of the 61 million registered voters – since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

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Calls to boycott the vote had been launched following months of protests sparked in September 2022 by the murder in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, accused of showing too much hair. Yet some 10 million more Iranians decided to go to the polls for the second round, decisively choosing the reformist heart surgeon over his hard-line opponent, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

“The reformist campaign was very clear: if with Dr. Pezeshkian an improvement of the situation is possible, then the deterioration of the situation under Mr. Jalili is a certainty. This is the formula they used,” says Adnan Tabatabai, an Iran expert and founder of the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient in Bonn, Germany.

Dr. Pezeshkian has managed to take on the character of an ordinary man, far from elitist circles and “very different from other (previous) reformist candidates,” he says.

“He may be a heart surgeon – and of course, he is not from the working class – but he is popular with the people,” says Mr. Tabatabai, speaking from Tehran. “That is why (Dr. Pezeshkian), with his uncorrupted manner and closeness to the population, has managed to awaken a significant portion of those who had decided not to participate in the elections anymore.”

Two days before the vote, former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif – who has campaigned extensively for Dr Pezeshkian – called on voters to “send home those who have achieved nothing for the country except sanctions, humiliation and misery”.

Announcing the results, Dr. Pezeshkian vowed to “open a new chapter” for Iran, despite a “test of difficulties and challenges ahead, simply to provide a prosperous life for our people.”

Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters

Election officials count ballots at a polling station after voting ended in the Iranian presidential runoff election between Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, in Tehran, Iran, July 6, 2024.

The snap elections were called after President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May. The hard-line former prosecutor oversaw a brutal crackdown on women-led protests that left more than 500 people dead.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged the victory of Dr Pezeshkian – the only reformist candidate allowed to run – and said he should “follow the path” of Mr Raisi.

Yet analysts note that the hard-liners’ policies have deeply damaged the Iranian economy, isolated Iran in the region – where Iran and its allied militias are locked in a struggle against Israel and the United States – and led to an unprecedented chasm between legions of Iranians and their leaders.

“What’s really different this time is that the overall picture is clear: If you let the most radical minds rule the country in its entirety, the result will be catastrophic and will get even worse,” said a longtime observer in Tehran, who asked not to be identified. “And that’s obviously something that voters are interested in.”

Overcoming a Boycott Campaign

Indeed, Dr. Pezeshkian’s campaign played on popular fear of Mr. Jalili and called on voters to “save Iran from Talibanism.” Mr. Jalili’s campaign, in turn, portrayed Dr. Pezeshkian and his team as a “dangerous, pro-Western clan.”

“We are losing support in society, because of our behavior, because of high prices, because of the way we treat girls and because we censor the Internet,” Dr. Pezeshkian said during a televised debate.

In previous elections, voter turnout had been higher for reformist candidates. This time, Iranians had to overcome a powerful boycott campaign led by the families of those killed in the protests to vote. On social media, they accused the reformists participating in the elections of being “traitors” who were profiting from the loss of their loved ones.

Fatemeh Heydari, for example, whose brother Javad was killed by security forces in Isfahan province, posted on X that only traitors would “incite voting for a gang of thieves and murderers.”

Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters

People pose on the day of the second round of the presidential election between Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, in Tehran, Iran, July 5, 2024.

Yet among the voters was Amir, a businessman and hotelier from southern Iran, who said he felt “desperate” that his first-round vote could prevent a hard-line victory he believed was built into the system.

“The country has changed in the last two years, it is unrecognizable,” says Amir, who asked that only his first name be used.

“A lot of people started distancing themselves from everything that came from the regime; they wanted to get away from it,” he says. “I voted, but it was the first time I didn’t talk to anyone about voting or not, before the elections. I didn’t want to convince anyone to vote. Before, I talked to people, I called them.

“This is not the reformist we were looking for,” Amir says, noting that Dr. Pezeshkian – unlike the other two reformist presidents since 1997 – is openly religious and has often declared his allegiance to Ayatollah Khamenei, who decides all key matters of state.

“He is the one who is not a thief”

Dr. Pezeshkian, who served as a doctor on the front lines of the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, has an interesting personal story. When his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident about 30 years ago, he did not remarry—a rarity in Iran—and raised his three remaining children alone.

He served as health minister during the second term of reformist President Mohammad Khatami and was elected to parliament five times. He won praise during the first week of the Mahsa Amini protests, when he said on state television that he accused the regime of making “our children… hate our religion” by trying to “impose religious faith by force.”

“His superpower is not corruption. They say that among the other candidates, he is the one who is not a thief,” Amir explains. “Unification is not his superpower. (…) I don’t have much hope.”

Iranian presidents have limited scope for action compared to the power of the supreme leader. Iran will continue to maintain close ties with Russia – to which it has supplied military drones to bomb Ukraine – and to support Iran’s allies, the Axis of Resistance, in their fight against Israeli and American interests.

But reformist presidents have set the tone domestically, raised hopes and gained some room to maneuver foreign policy — including by concluding the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, from which former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.