Massoud Pezeshkian elected Iran’s new president

TEHRAN: Reformist Massoud Pezeshkian has been elected Iran’s new president, beating his hardline conservative rival Saeed Jalili.

The vote was declared in Dr Pezeshkian’s favour after he secured 53.3% of the more than 30 million votes counted. Mr Jalili polled 44.3%.

The run-off came after no candidate secured a majority in the first round of the election on 28 June, which saw a historically low voter turnout of 40%.

The election was called after Iran’s previous president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May, in which seven others died.

Videos posted on social media show street celebrations for Dr Pezeshkian in Tehran and several other cities across the country.

In the videos, mostly young people dance and wave the signature green flag of his campaign, while passing cars sound their horns.

Dr Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon, is critical of Iran’s notorious morality police and caused a stir after promising “unity and cohesion”, as well as an end to Iran’s “isolation” from the world.

He has also called for “constructive negotiations” with Western powers over a renewal of the faltering 2015 nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for an easing of Western sanctions.

His rival, Saeed Jalili, favours the status quo. The former nuclear negotiator enjoys strong support amongst Iran’s most religious communities.

Defiant Biden tells Democrats ‘I’m staying in the race!’

Mr Jalili is known for his hardline anti-Western stance and opposition to restoring the nuclear deal, which he says crossed Iran’s “red lines”.

Early reports suggested that more people came out to vote on Friday, compared to the first round last week, when the turnout was the lowest since the Islamic revolution in 1979 amid widespread discontent.

Some people who did not vote in the first round were persuaded to cast their ballot for Dr Pezeshkian this time round to prevent Mr Jalili from becoming the president.

They feared that with the victory of Mr Jalili, Iran would be heading for more confrontation with the outside world and that he will bring Iran nothing but more sanctions and more isolation.

In order to stand, both candidates had to make it through a vetting process run by the Guardian Council, a body made up of 12 clerics and jurists that hold significant power in Iran.

That process saw 74 other candidates removed from the race, including several women.

The Guardian Council has previously been criticised by human rights groups for disqualifying candidates who are not loyal enough to the regime.