July 6, 2024
Reformist
candidate Masoud Pezeshkian was elected Iran's ninth president on 6 July after
winning a run-off election against conservative candidate Saeed Jalili,
semi-official Tasnim News reported.
Mohsen Eslami,
spokesperson for Iran's election headquarters, announced the result early on
Saturday after the vote counting was completed.
"The
difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship,
empathy, and trust," Pezeshkian said in a post on X on Saturday.
"I extend
my hand towards you and swear on my honour that I will not leave you alone on
this path. Don't leave me alone," he wrote.
Pezeshkian and
Jalili faced off in Friday's election after garnering the most votes among four
candidates in the June 28 snap presidential election.
The election
headquarters issued the eighth and final update at 6:45 AM local time.
Pezeshkian won
16,384,403 votes (53.7 percent), while Jalili secured 13,538,179 ballots (44.3
percent).
Shortly after
the announcement, Jalili conceded defeat
to Pezeshkian, telling state television, "Not only should he be respected,
but now we must use all our strength and help him move forward with strength."
Nearly 50
percent of the eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots in the second
round of the election.
Pezeshkian will
hold office for four years. The election took place a year ahead of schedule
after the previous president, Ebrahim Raisi, was killed in a tragic helicopter
crash in May alongside foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six
others.
Regarding
Pezeshkian, The Cradle's Fereshteh Sadeghi wrote that he "represents the
faction that seeks to mend ties with the west, revive the 2015 nuclear deal,
and even establish relations with the US."
"This
mindset advocates a free market, minimizing the role of government, and
criticizes Iran's "look east" foreign policy and its growing
influence in West Asia and North Africa," she added.
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