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Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian Wins Iranian Presidential Election, Defeats Saeed Jalili

Jul 6, 2024, 05:29 AM

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, has been elected as Iran's new president, defeating hardliner Saeed Jalili in a closely contested runoff election. Pezeshkian secured 16,384,403 votes, accounting for 53.6% of the total, while Jalili received 13,538,179 votes. The voter turnout was reported at just under 50%. Pezeshkian, a former Health Minister and cardiac surgeon of Azerbaijani and Kurdish descent, campaigned on promises to open Iran to the world, deliver social freedoms, and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law. His victory reflects a significant shift towards reformist policies in Iran, amid ongoing economic crises and public discontent with hard-line policies. Pezeshkian becomes the ninth president of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Revolution.