Moderate politician Massoud Pezeshkian has won the presidential election in Iran. The spokesman for the electoral authority announced this on state television early on Saturday. Accordingly, the 69-year-old won the second round of the election with 53.7 to 44.3 percent against hardliner Said Jalili. Pezeshkian has promised an opening up of Iran and more freedoms for the population. The elections became necessary after the accidental death of the arch-conservative president Ebrahim Raisi.
“With the majority of votes cast on Friday, Pezeshkian became the next president of Iran,” the Interior Ministry said. Videos on social media showed Pezeshkian’s supporters dancing in the streets of many cities across the country, and motorists honking their horns to announce his victory. In the northwestern city of Urmia, the new president’s hometown, people handed out candy in the streets, witnesses said.
Historically low turnout in the first round of voting
The elections in Iran ended at midnight, after being extended three times for a total of six hours. According to the electoral authority, the turnout in the elections was 49.8 percent, significantly higher than in the first round. Critics and experts saw the historically low turnout of 40 percent in the first round as a vote of no confidence in the Islamic Republic. This reflects the great disappointment of the young generation in particular, who have lost faith in major domestic political changes. The death of the young Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in the fall of 2022 led to nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule.
IZeshkian wants to improve relations with the West
The 69-year-old Pezeshkian has been a rather low-profile politician until now. During the election campaign, he campaigned for renewed trust between the government and the people, who are extremely disillusioned with politics after failed reform attempts, political repression and an economic crisis. Like many politicians from the reform camp, he called for improved relations with the West, also to open up the country and stimulate the ailing economy.
Pezeshkian already gained government experience as Minister of Health under the second presidency of Mohammed Khatami (2001-2005). Despite his moderate words, he is considered a man of the system, supported the powerful Revolutionary Guards and praised the attack on Israel with drones and missiles. In the TV debates he described himself as a conservative politician who nevertheless believes that reforms are necessary. His opponent Jalili was considered a strong supporter of the Islamic Revolution. He was the chief negotiator in the nuclear talks and an associate of the ultra-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Iranian political system has combined republican and theocratic features since the 1979 revolution. However, there are no free elections: the Guardian Council always checks candidates for their ideological suitability. Fundamental criticism of the system is not tolerated.
Source: Krone
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