Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist, defeated ultraconservative Saeed Jalili in Saturday’s runoff presidential election in Iran, according to the interior ministry.
According to election authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami, out of around 30 million ballots cast, Pezeshkian received more over 17 million votes and Jalili more than 13 million. Voter turnout was 49.8%.
The election was called ahead of schedule following the unusually low turnout of the first round last week, which was caused by the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran and the person with the most power, has emphasised the significance of the election by calling for a higher turnout in the runoff.
Although the turnout for the first round was fewer than anticipated, he clarified that this was not a move “against the system”.
Amid rising tensions in the area over the Gaza War, a disagreement with the West on Iran’s nuclear program, and domestic unrest regarding the country’s crippled economy due to sanctions, the election is taking place.
According to numbers released by Iran’s elections body, Pezeshkian, the sole reformist permitted to run in last week’s first round, received the most votes (about 42 percent), followed by Jalili (around 39 percent).
The first round of the Iranian presidential election saw only 40% of the country’s 61 million eligible voters cast ballots, the lowest percentage in any election since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The ascent to prominence of Pezeshkian, an obscure candidate until recently, has instilled optimism among Iran’s reformists following years of subjugation by the conservative and ultraconservative factions.
Pezeshkian was backed by the main reformist alliance in Iran, which included moderate former president Hassan Rouhani and President Mohammad Khatami.
The 69-year-old cardiac surgeon Pezeshkian has advocated for “constructive relations” with Western nations to “get Iran out of its isolation” and resurrect the nuclear agreement.
Jalili, a 58-year-old former nuclear negotiator from Iran, is well-known for his unwavering anti-Western position.
He garnered support from various conservative figures and recruited a sizable network of hardline followers during his campaign.
Pezeshkian and Jalili participated in two televised debates prior to Friday’s runoff, where they talked about the poor attendance, Iran’s economic problems, international relations, and internet restrictions.
Pezeshkian pledged to lift long-standing internet bans and “fully” oppose police patrols enforcing women’s headscarves, a contentious topic since Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody in 2022.
A suspected dress code violation led to the detention of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, whose passing caused months of upheaval across the country.
