Since the eligibility of Masoud Pezeshkian to run in the presidential election was confirmed, some believe that his background - being born in Mahabad, continuing his university education in Tabriz, and serving as a five-term MP from the constituencies of Tabriz, Azarshahr, and Osku - gives him a greater chance of winning the votes of Azeri and Kurdish citizens compared to other candidates. "I am not voting for Dr Pezeshkian because I am a Turk, but because if he is elected, he will be the president of the oppressed and discriminated minority of this country," Zahra Shahrood, a resident of Zanjan told IranWire. "Maybe if there were a candidate with similar qualities from the Baluch or Kurdish communities, I would definitely vote for them too, because our pain is common in this land - the pain of discrimination," she added.
