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TEHRAN–Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, who advocates improved ties with the West, on Saturday won a runoff presidential election against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, the interior ministry said.
Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes, around 54 percent, and Jalili more than 13 million, roughly 44 percent, out of about 30 million votes cast, electoral authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami said.
Voter turnout was 49.8 percent, Eslami added, up from a record low of about 40 percent during the first round.
The election came against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions due to the Gaza war, a dispute with the West over Iran’s nuclear program, and domestic discontent over the state of Iran’s sanctions-hit economy.
In his first comments after winning, Pezeshkian said the vote was the start of a “partnership” with the Iranian people.
“The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy, and trust. I extend my hand to you,” Pezeshkian said in a post on social media platform X.
On Tuesday he had said that, if he won, he would “extend the hand of friendship to everyone”.
The defeated Jalili called on his supporters to now back Pezeshkian.
“The person who is elected by the people is respected, his respect should be maintained,… and now we should make all our efforts to help him move forward with strength,” Jalili said in remarks made Tuesday and posted Saturday on X.
An election was not due until 2025 but was called early after the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
