Results of the 2009 Iranian presidential election Results of the 2009 Iranian presidential election The 2009 Iranian presidential election was characterized by huge candidate rallies in Iranian cities, and very high turnout reported to be over 80 percent. Iran holds a run-off election when no candidate receives a majority of votes, and this would have been held on 19 June 2009. At the closing of election polls, both leading candidates, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, claimed victory, with both candidates telling the press that their sources have them at 58–60% of the total vote. Early reports had claimed a turnout of 32 million votes cast although the
2009 Iranian presidential election movement attempted to unite behind a single candidate; former President Mohammad Khatami was the leading opponent to Ahmadinejad in some opinion polls, until he withdrew and endorsed former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Former Speaker of the Majlis Mehdi Karroubi, another Reformist, was also running; as was the former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohsen Rezaee, a conservative with a reputation for political pragmatism. The election marked a return to public spotlight for Mousavi, who had not received much attention since he served as Prime Minister in the 1980s. Reformist opinions galvanized around him as the election grew nearer. He