TEHRAN: Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday won a runoff presidential election against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, the interior ministry said.
Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes and Jalili more than 13 million out of about 30 million votes cast, electoral authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami said, adding that voter turnout stood at 49.8 percent.
The number of spoiled ballots was reported to be over 600,000.
Pezeshkian thanked his supporters who came to vote “with love and to help” the country.
“We will extend the hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country; we should use everyone for the progress of the country,” he said on state television.
The election, called early after the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, followed a first round marked by a historically low turnout last week.
Iranians vote in run-off presidential election amid widespread apathy
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority, had called for a higher turnout in the runoff, emphasising the importance of the election.
He said the first round turnout was lower than expected, but added that it was not an act “against the system”.
The ballot comes against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions over the Gaza war, a dispute with the West over Iran’s nuclear programme, and domestic discontent over the state of Iran’s sanctions-hit economy.
Reformist support
In last week’s first round, Pezeshkian, who was the only reformist allowed to stand, won the largest number of votes, around 42 percent, while Jalili came second with around 39 percent, according to figures from Iran’s elections authority.
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