New Era in Iran: Reformer Pezeshkian Wins Presidential Election to Open Iran to the West

HIBAPRESS-RABAT
Reformer Massoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old MP who advocates for Iran to open up to the West, won the second round of the presidential election last Saturday, ahead of ultra-conservative Said Jalili.
Organised in haste after the death of ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on 19 May, the presidential election was held in a context of popular discontent, particularly over the state of the economy, which has been hit by international sanctions.
After the vote last Friday, in which some 61 million Iranians were called to the polls, Mr. Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes against more than 13 million for his opponent, out of a total of 30 million ballots already counted, according to the electoral authorities. After a first round marked by a high abstention rate, the turnout was 49.8%. The number of invalid ballots is estimated at more than 600,000.