Massoud PezeshkianThe 69-year-old heart-surgeon-turned-politician is currently running for president of Iran. Pezeshkian was born on September 29, 1954 in Mahabad in northwestern Iran. He has Azerbaijani roots from his father’s side and Iranian-Kurdish roots from his mother’s side, which led him to appreciate the ethnic plurality in Iran as a nation. In the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq war, he came to be a renowned cardiac surgeon and later held office as president of Tabriz Medical University.
In 1994, Pezeshkian suffered a personal tragedy when a car accident claimed the lives of his wife Fatme Majidi and one of their daughters. used to serve as Mi’s Health minister. His political journey struck a balance between advocating for reform and overcoming the limitations of Iran’s theocratic system.
Pezeshkian openly showed his reformist colors in 2022 when Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrest for allegedly violating hijab laws. He strongly condemned this by saying; “It is not allow in Islamic Republic that they arrest girl because of wearing headscarf and then bring her dead body to her family.”
During a televised debate, Pezeshkian spoke about Government failure: “We are losing support among our people because we have been so disrespectful to them, prices have gone up so high and we never let girls do anything or see what happens on internet.” Our behavior makes people lose support too. And they don’t like us anymore.
June 28th, 2024 The lowest turnout at an election ever recorded in Iran The runoff between Jalili Hardline former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili will face off against Pezeshkian. Among other moderates and reformists whom his campaign aligned with were former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Pezezhian supports that west should be seen as allies, nuclear deal should be brought back and hijab rules must not be enforce as befored. His campaign slogan, “For Iran”, echoes the famous protest song called “Baraye”.
However, Pezeshkian’s inclusion did not increase voter turnout despite his reformist rhetoric. According to geopolitical risk consultancy Eurasia Group, “the addition of the reformist Pezeshkian failed to stem the trend of declining participation. The majority of Iranians do not trust their governance system and see this election as a farce.”
During his final debate with Jalili, Pezeshkian admitted to this disillusionment: “In the heated debate between me and him only 40% (of eligible voters) voted while sixty percent didn’t accept it.” us.
