“Pezeshkian” Wins Iranian Presidential Runoff

Masoud Pezeshkian, a seasoned lawmaker and former health minister, has been declared the winner of the Iranian presidential runoff election, defeating his opponent Saeed Jalili.

According to the final vote count announced by the election headquarters, Pezeshkian has been elected as the ninth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He received 16,384,403 votes out of the total 30,530,157 votes, while his opponent Jalili garnered 13,538,179 votes in Friday’s runoff election, which saw a significantly high voter turnout.

Pezeshkian will replace Ebrahim Raeisi, a widely popular president who passed away in a helicopter crash on May 19 in northwestern Iran, along with seven others.

Pezeshkian was one of the six candidates approved by the Constitutional Council (also known as the Guardian Council), the 12-member election supervisory body, to run in the presidential election last month.

He emerged as the frontrunner in the June 28 election after receiving 10.4 million votes, followed by Jalili with 9.4 million, although both fell short of the outright majority of 50 percent plus one vote.

Born on September 29, 1954, in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, Pezeshkian has represented the northwestern city of Tabriz in the 12th Iranian parliament.

A seasoned parliamentarian, Pezeshkian was elected to the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th parliaments. Between 2016 and 2020, he also held the position of first deputy speaker.

The former health minister also underscored the crucial role of trust in propelling the nation forward.

On many occasions, he reiterated his commitment to abiding by the Islamic Republic’s legal framework and the policies defined by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.