Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s presidential election, the country’s electoral authority said Saturday, defeating his hardline rival in a pivotal vote amid heightened tensions both domestically and internationally.
Out of 30.5 million votes counted in Friday’s runoff, Pezeshkian won 53.6%, edging out ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, who had 44.3% of the votes, state-run Press TV reported.
Voter turnout was 49.8%, Press TV reported.
Pezeshkian was elected in a second round of voting after securing the highest number of ballots in the first round, ahead of Jalili.
The first round saw the lowest voter turnout for a presidential election since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979.
In a victory speech in Tehran on Saturday, Pezeshkian thanked the Iranian people and vowed to serve as a “voice of the voiceless.”
“I am the servant of the people of Iran. We will serve you, dear people of our country,” Pezeshkian said at the burial site of Imam Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The 69-year-old trained heart surgeon and lawmaker acknowledged the challenges facing the country as he called for unity in what he described as a new chapter for Iran.
“Let’s come together, let’s stick together, let’s get united and work together,” he said. “We would be able to deal with every aspect and area of the government: economic, financial, military and social challenges.”
The country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, thanked the candidates and congratulated the president-elect.
Khamenei praised the country for quickly holding “free and transparent elections” in the wake of President Ebrahim Raisi’s death.
A snap election was held after Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May in Iran’s remote northwest, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials.
Khamenei advised Pezeshkian to act “in continuation of the path” of Raisi.
The Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member body tasked with overseeing elections and legislation, must certify the vote before Pezeshkian can take office.
Pezeshkian will take the helm in a country that is facing increasing international isolation, internal discontent, a spiraling economy and the prospect of direct conflict with its archenemy Israel.
The lawmaker was the only reformist candidate vying for the top elected seat in the country after dozens of other candidates were barred from running
