Iran Election: Turnout Near 50%
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Nearly half of the Iranian people who were eligible to vote took part in the presidential election, which ended with victory for Masoud Pezeshkian.
A total of 61,452,321 Iranians were eligible to vote in the runoff presidential election, which was held on July 5.
The number of votes cast in the polls stood at 30,530,157, translating into a turnout of 49.68%.
Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili were facing off in the showdown yesterday, after none of the four initial candidates could garner over 50% of the votes on June 28.
The president-elect, Pezeshkian, won 16,384,403 votes, equivalent to 53.66% of the ballots. The runner-up, Jalili, secured 44.34% of the votes with 13,538,179 ballots.
The new administration, the 14th one after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, will hold office for four years.
Pezeshkian, a physician-turned-politician, has represented the people of Tabriz in the Iranian Parliament for five terms.
The seasoned lawmaker also used to serve as a deputy Parliament speaker.
The president-elect is also a one-time Health Minister, serving under President Mohammad Khatami from 2001 to 2005.