Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian has been elected the new President of Iran as he defeated his hardline competitor Saeed Jalili, media reports said.
Out of a total of 30,530,157 votes counted, Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, won 16,384,403 votes while Jalili stood behind his rival with 13,538,179 ballots. The turnout was reported to be 49.8 percent, reported IRNA news agency.
In his political career, 69-year-old Pezeshkian has served as a lawmaker in the country’s Parliament for five four-year terms.
The senior politician also served as vice speaker of Iran’s 10th Parliament.
During the tenure of President Mohammad Khatami, he had served as Iran’s minister of health for four years.
The poll was held after Iran’s previous president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
Even before the final result was declared, supporters of the winning candidate took to the streets to celebrate the victory.
Following his win, Pezeshkian posted on X: “Dear people of Iran, the elections are over and this is just the beginning of our cooperation. The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy and trust. I extend my hand to you and I swear on my honor that I will not leave you alone on this path. don’t leave us alone.”
