Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian defeated ultra-conservative Saeed Jalili in the second round of the presidential election on Saturday, the interior ministry said.
Election authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami said Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes while Jalili received more than 13 million. He said voter turnout was 49.8 percent.
The number of spoilt ballots was reported to be over 600,000.
Pezeshkian thanked his supporters who came to vote “with love and help” for the country.
“We will extend a hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country; we should utilise everyone for the progress of the country,” he said on state television.
The election, declared early after the death of ultra-conservative President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, saw historically low turnout in the first round last week.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds supreme power, had called for a higher voter turnout in the second round, stressing the importance of the election.
He said voter turnout in the first round was lower than expected, but added that it was not an act “against the system.”
The vote comes against a backdrop of rising regional tensions over 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.
Reformist support
In the first round last week, Pezeshkian, the only reformist running, received the most votes, about 42 percent, while Jalili came in second with about 39 percent, according to data from Iran’s election authority.
Only 40 percent of Iran’s 61 million eligible voters participated in the first round – the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The candidacy of Pezeshkian, who was relatively unknown until recently, has raised the hopes of Iran’s reformists after years of dominance by the conservative and ultra-conservative camps.
Iran’s main reformist coalition backed Pezeshkian, including former President Mohammad Khatami and moderate Hassan Rouhani.
Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, has called for “constructive relations” with Western countries to revive the nuclear deal in order to “bring Iran out of isolation.”
Jalili, 58, is a former Iranian nuclear negotiator widely known for his uncompromising anti-Western stance.
During his campaign, he mobilized a large base of radical supporters and also received endorsements from other conservative figures.
Ahead of Friday’s second round of voting, Pezeshkian and Jalili took part in two televised debates during which they discussed the low turnout as well as Iran’s economic crisis, international relations and internet restrictions.
Pezeshkian also vowed to ease long-standing internet restrictions and “resolutely” oppose police patrols enforcing compulsory hijab for women, a high-profile issue since the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman was detained for allegedly violating the dress code and her death sparked months of nationwide unrest.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
