Liberal Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran's presidential runoff election

TEHRAN – Iranian moderate candidate Masoud Pezeshkian managed to clinch presidential election, defeating Saeed Jalili by nearly 3 million votes.

Pezeshkian, who is a cardiac surgeon, pushed liberal approach in his election campaign including reaching out to West and easing the enforcement of the country's mandatory Hijab legislation.

His party members celebrated in streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn as his lead grew and victory over Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator close to Iran’s supreme leader, became evident.

Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran’s Shia theocracy during his campaign and has long regarded the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the ultimate authority on all state matters.

The first round of voting on June 28 witnessed the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials traditionally viewed turnout as an indicator of support for the country’s Shia theocracy, which has been strained by years of economic sanctions, mass demonstrations, and severe crackdowns on dissent.

Over 6 crores Iranians were eligible to vote, with approximately one third of them aged between 18 and 30.

The development comes after Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May, was seen as a protege of Khamenei and a potential successor as supreme leader. Khamenei remains the ultimate decision-maker on state matters, the new president could influence the country’s foreign policy towards either confrontation or cooperation with the West.