Masoud Pezeshkian, an Iranian reformist, has won the presidential run-off, defeating his competitor Saeed Jalili, according to state media and the Interior Ministry.
According to a vote tally released by authorities early Saturday, Pezeshkian won the election on Friday with 16.3 million votes against Jalili’s 13.5 million.
More than 61 million Iranians over the age of 18 were eligible to vote, with around 18 million of them aged 18 to 30. Voting was scheduled to close at 6 p.m. but was prolonged to midnight to increase participation.
Pezeshkian and Jalili were both running to succeed the 63-year-old late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19 that also killed the country’s foreign minister and numerous other officials.
Pezeshkian vowed no major changes to Iran’s theocracy during his campaign, and he has long regarded Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the sole judge of all questions of state in the country.
Pezeshkian and Jalili were both running to succeed the 63-year-old late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19 that also killed the country’s foreign minister and numerous other officials.
Pezeshkian vowed no major changes to Iran’s theocracy during his campaign, and he has long regarded Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the sole judge of all questions of state in the country.
Supporters of Pezeshkian took to the streets of Tehran and other towns before daybreak to celebrate his growing lead over Jalili, a hardline former nuclear negotiator.
However, Pezeshkian’s victory leaves Iran in a delicate position, with tensions in the Middle East rising due to Israel’s war on Gaza.
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