Hassan Rouhani has won Iran’s presidential election, securing just over 50% of the vote and so avoiding the need for a run-off.
Crowds gathered in Tehran to hail reformist-backed cleric Hassan Rouhani, who said he had achieved a “victory of moderation over extremism”.
Some 72.2% of the 50 million eligible Iranian voters cast ballots to choose the successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The US said it was “ready to engage directly” with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei congratulated Hassan Rouhani on his victory.
“I urge everyone to help the president-elect and his colleagues in the government, as he is the president of the whole nation,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will ratify the vote on August 3 and the new president will then take the oath in parliament.
Hassan Rouhani, who has pledged greater engagement with Western powers, said: “This victory is a victory for wisdom, moderation and maturity… over extremism.”
But he also urged the world to “acknowledge the rights” of Iran.
He said: “The nations who tout democracy and open dialogue should speak to the Iranian people with respect and recognize the rights of the Islamic republic.”
Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced that Hassan Rouhani had won 18,613,329 of the 36,704,156 votes cast. This represented 50.71% of the vote.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf won 6,077,292 votes to take second place (16.56%).
Saeed Jalili came third and Mohsen Rezai fourth.
Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that any challenge by presidential candidates would have to be lodged to the Guardian Council within three days.
The winning candidate needed more than 50% of all ballots cast, including invalid ones, to avoid a run-off.
Crowds gathered in Vali-Asr Square in central Tehran and in Kaj Square in the north-west of the capital to hail the victory.
“Long live reform, long live Rouhani,” members of the crowd chanted.
Hassan Rouhani has won Iran’s presidential election, securing just over 50 percent of the vote and so avoiding the need for a run-off
One of them told Reuters news agency: “Many people are holding Rouhani posters. Some are hugging and crying. We are all so happy here. We can’t believe there is finally a change.”
The US said it respected the vote, although White House spokesman Jay Carney cited concern at censorship and lack of transparency.
The US would “engage Iran directly” to find a “diplomatic solution that will fully address the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme”.
The UK Foreign Office urged Hassan Rouhani to “set Iran on a different course for the future: addressing international concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme… and improving the political and human rights situation for the people of Iran”.
France said it was “ready to work” with the new leader.
One of Hassan Rouhani’s main pledges was to try to ease international sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme.
Iran has been suffering economic hardship, with rising unemployment, a devalued currency and soaring inflation.
Voting had been extended by five hours on Friday evening to allow more people to cast their ballots.
Although all six candidates were seen as conservatives, analysts say Hassan Rouhani – a 64-year-old cleric often described as “moderate” who has held several parliamentary posts and served as chief nuclear negotiator – has been reaching out to reformists in recent days.
The surge of support for him came after Mohammad Reza Aref, the only reformist candidate in the race, announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing on the advice of pro-reform ex-President Mohammad Khatami.
Hassan Rouhani thus went into polling day with the endorsement of two ex-presidents – Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was disqualified from the race by the powerful Guardian Council, a 12-member body of theologians and jurists.
The hard-line candidates included Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf – who is seen as a pragmatic conservative – and nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili – who is said to be very close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The other three candidates were Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.
After the last presidential election in June 2009, millions of Iranians took to the streets to demand a rerun, when the supreme leader dismissed claims by the three defeated candidates of widespread fraud.
No foreign observers monitored this year’s election and there have also been concerns that media coverage in the run-up has been unfair.
Many reformist newspapers have been shut down, access to the internet and foreign broadcasters has been restricted, and journalists have been detained.
Who is Hassan Rouhani?
- A religious moderate, fluent in English, German, French, Russian and Arabic
- The only cleric contesting the Iranian presidential election
- Key figure in Iranian politics who has held some of the country’s top jobs, including chief nuclear negotiator
- Has the backing of two former presidents
Iran presidential election results:
- Hassan Rouhani: 18,613,329
- Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf: 6,077,292
- Saeed Jalili: 4,168,946
- Mohsen Rezai: 3,884,412
- Ali Akbar Velayati: 2,268,753
- Mohammad Gharazi: 446,015
- Votes cast: 36,704,156
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Iran’s presidential election initial count put the reformist-backed candidate, Hassan Rouhani, in the lead.
Official figures give Hassan Rouhani 51% of the five million ballots counted so far – well ahead of second-placed Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on 17%.
If Hassan Rouhani maintains that margin, he will be able to avoid a run-off vote.
Electoral officials said turnout was high among the 50 million Iranians eligible to vote on Friday for a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s eight years in power have been characterized by economic turmoil and Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.
The interior ministry began releasing preliminary figures early on Saturday after a delay of several hours.
Voting was extended until 23:00 local time on Friday to allow more people to cast their ballots. Iranian Press TV reported that turnout was 80%.
It is unclear when the final results will be known.
Although all six candidates are seen as conservatives, analysts say Hassan Rouhani – a 64-year-old cleric often described as “moderate” who has held several parliamentary posts and served as chief nuclear negotiator – has been reaching out to reformists in recent days.
Official figures give Hassan Rouhani more than 51 percent of the five million ballots counted so far
The surge of support for him came after Mohammad Reza Aref, the only reformist candidate in the race, announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing on the advice of pro-reform ex-President Mohammad Khatami.
Hassan Rouhani therefore went into polling day with the endorsement of two ex-presidents – Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was disqualified from the race by the powerful Guardian Council, a 12-member body of theologians and jurists.
However, Hassan Rouhani faced a tough challenge from hard-line candidates, including Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf – who is seen as a pragmatic conservative – and nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili – who is said to be very close to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The other three candidates are Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.
As polls closed, representatives of all six candidates issued a joint statement urging their supporters to remain calm until the official results were known.
“We ask people not to pay attention to rumors of victory parades being organized and to avoid gathering before the official results,” the statement said.
Earlier, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar told state TV that any presidential candidates unhappy with the results would have three days to lodge complaints to the Guardian Council.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cast his ballot in Tehran accompanied by Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi and government spokesman Gholam Hoseyn Elham, Fars news agency reported.
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Some 50 million voters across Iran are casting their ballots in the country’s key presidential elections.
Although all six candidates are seen as conservatives, one of them, cleric Hassan Rouhani, has been reaching out to the reformists in recent days.
The election will decide a successor to outgoing leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s eight years in power have been characterized by economic turmoil and Western sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
Polls across Iran opened at 08:00 local time and are due to close at 18:00. Some 50 million people are eligible to cast their ballots.
The past week brought a surprising change to what otherwise had looked like being a predictable election.
Hassan Rouhani has been attracting increasing attention, speaking publicly about the need to re-engage with the West, our correspondent says.
He has also promised to free political prisoners and called for greater reform of the media.
The surge of support for him came after Mohammad Reza Aref, the only reformist candidate in the race, announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing his candidature on the advice of pro-reform ex-President Mohammad Khatami.
Hassan Rouhani now has the endorsement of two ex-presidents, Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was disqualified from the race by the powerful Guardian Council.
However, Hassan Rouhani faces a tough challenge from hard-line candidates, including top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
Six candidates are running for Iran’s presidential race
The remaining candidates are conservatives close to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
He has called for a large turnout but not publicly stated his preference for any single candidate.
After casting his vote early, Ayatollah Khamenei spoke live on state television.
“Inshallah [God willing], the Iranian people will create a new political epic,” he said.
He also attacked US criticism of the presidential poll and those, in the US, who said they did not recognize the election.
“The Iranian people… will do what is in their interest.”
If no candidate secures 50.1 percent or more of the votes to win outright, a second round will be held in a week’s time.
Friday’s election is the first since 2009, when protesters took to the streets in anger at the results which they said had been rigged in favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
But the disqualification of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in May left supporters of the post-2009 liberal movement divided about whether to bother voting in the election at all.
No foreign observers will be monitoring the poll, and there have also been concerns that media coverage in the run-up was unfair.
Many reform newspapers have been shut down, access to the internet and foreign broadcasters restricted, and journalists detained.
Iranian presidential elections:
- Six candidates running
- Race is seen as contest between Ayatollah Ali Khamenei loyalists and moderate reformers
- About 50 million eligible voters
- If no candidate wins 50.1%, run-off held on June 21
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