TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday won a runoff presidential election against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, state media reported.
Officials have so far counted more than 30 million votes, out of which Pezeshkian garnered over 17 million and Jalili more than 13 million, according to results released by the interior ministry.
Iran held the first round of its snap presidential election last week which was marked by a record low turnout.
Only 40 per cent of Iran’s 61 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the first round — the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The first round saw Pezeshkian, a sole reformist candidate, leading the polls running against three conservative figures with Jalili coming second and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in third place.
As none of the candidates secured more than 50 percent of the votes, a runoff round between Pezeshkian and Jalili was held on Friday.
Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, earned the support of Iran’s main reformist coalition including ex-president Mohammad Khatami and moderate former president Hassan Rouhani.
Jalili, 58, is noted for his uncompromising anti-West position and rallied a substantial base of hardline supporters and received backing from other conservative figures.
The snap elections were originally slated for 2025 but were brought forward after the unexpected death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a May helicopter crash.
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.
