Pezeshkian Wins Iranian Presidential Runoff

The reformist Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s presidential election with 53.7 percent of the vote, beating the hardliner Saeed Jalili, who took 46.3 percent of the vote. Pezeshkian will take the place of the former President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.

The first round of Iran’s presidential election saw both Pezeshkian and Jalili progress to the runoff with 44 and 40 percent of the vote respectively. The first round of the election, however, faced a general climate of apathy and record-low turnout. During the election, Pezeshkian called for “constructive negotiations” with the West for a new nuclear deal, while Jalili took more of an anti-Western stance. 

Jalili has been attacked on the campaign trail for religious policies, which have been compared by his opponents, including Pezeshkian, to those of the Taliban. By contrast, Pezeshkian has been accused of pandering to Azeri nationalists due to his half-Azeri, half-Kurdish ancestry and his campaign’s focus on minority rights.

As Iran’s President is very weak, being subordinate to the Supreme Leader in both foreign and domestic policy, it is unclear what effect this result will have on Iran.