Iran Election: Reformist politician Masoud Pezeshkian elected New president

Iran's New President Reformist politician Masoud Pezeshkian | Photo: Collected 

Iran Election 2024  ⸻ Reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian has won Iran's presidential election, defeating his hardline conservative opponent Saeed Jalili. Pezeshkian secured 53.3% of the votes from over 30 million ballots counted, while Jalili garnered 44.3%. The run-off was necessitated after no candidate obtained a majority in the first round held on June 28, marked by a historically low voter turnout of 40%. The election followed the tragic death of Iran's former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May, which claimed the lives of seven others.

Iran Election 2024 turnout in the latest round of voting reached 50%, higher than the first round last week, which saw the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic revolution amidst widespread discontent, though still relatively low. Many millions boycotted the elections due to widespread discontent. The dominance of Islamic hardliners among the candidates and the perception that real change is impossible as long as the supreme leader tightly controls policies deepened their frustration.

Some who abstained in the first round were swayed to vote for Dr. Pezeshkian this time to prevent Mr. Jalili from winning the presidency. They feared that a Jalili victory would lead Iran into more international confrontation and bring further sanctions and isolation.