After winning the run-off with 53.7 percent of votes, Pezeshkian acknowledged \u2018difficult path ahead\u2019
\n Tehran
\nIran\u2019s president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian has promised to serve all Iranians in his first remarks after being declared the winner of an election run-off against hardline rival Saeed Jalili.
\n\u201cThe difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy, and trust,\u201d Pezeshkian said in a post on X on Saturday.
\n\u201cI extend my hand towards you and swear on my honour that I will not leave you alone on this path. Don\u2019t leave me alone,\u201d added Pezeshkian, who is seen as a centrist and reform-minded candidate.
\nPezeshkian secured nearly 16.4m of the more than 30m votes cast, ahead of Jalili who received some 13.5m, according to the official count.
\n\u201cBy gaining [the] majority of the votes cast on Friday, Pezeshkian has become Iran\u2019s next president,\u201d the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
\nShortly after the announcement, Jalili conceded defeat, saying anybody elected by the people must be respected.
\n\u201cNot only should he be respected, but now we must use all our strength and help him move forward with strength,\u201d he told state television.
\nThere were scenes of celebration after the results were declared, with small groups of Pezeshkian supporters taking to the streets.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin was among several world leaders to congratulate Pezeshkian, but Western leaders were yet to respond.
\nLow turnout
\nParticipation in the run-off was 49.8 percent in the tight race between Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in the original field of four candidates who has pledged to open Iran to the world, and the former nuclear negotiator Jalili, who is a staunch advocate of deepening Iran\u2019s ties with Russia and China.
\nThe vote on Friday followed a June 28 ballot with an historically low turnout, when more than 60 percent of Iranian voters abstained from the snap election for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, following his death in a helicopter crash in May.
\nIn last week\u2019s election, Pezeshkian received about 42.5 percent of votes and Jalili some 38.7 percent.
\nReporting from Tehran on Saturday, Al Jazeera\u2019s Resul Serdar noted that about 50 percent of Iranians didn\u2019t vote as some didn\u2019t \u201chave faith that the election will bring any change, whether the winner is a conservative or a reformist\u201d.
\nOthers boycotted the election, Serdar said. \u201cThis is a silent protest.\u201d
\nPezeshkian is expected to assume his duties within 30 days. As he is still a member of parliament from Tabriz, the body will first vote on his resignation.
\nThe country\u2019s ninth elected president will next have to be officially endorsed in a ceremony by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after which he will be sworn in at the parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After winning the run-off with 53.7 percent of votes, Pezeshkian acknowledged \u2018difficult path ahead\u2019 Tehran Iran\u2019s president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian has promised to serve all Iranians in his first remarks after being declared the winner of an election run-off against hardline rival Saeed Jalili. \u201cThe difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-416898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n