Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed nationwide unity and cooperation for navigating what he known as a difficult path forward after successful the election Saturday.
“Dear people of Iran, the election is over and this is just the beginning of our cooperation,” Pezeshkian mentioned in an announcement.
“The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy and trust.”
“I lengthen my hand to you and I swear on my honor that I can’t go away you alone on this path. Don’t go away us alone,” he added.
The reformist candidate received Iran’s runoff presidential election, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to achieve out to the West and ease enforcement of the nation’s obligatory scarf regulation after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Pezeshkian promised no radical adjustments to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in his marketing campaign and lengthy has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the ultimate arbiter of all issues of state within the nation.
But even Pezeshkian’s modest goals will likely be challenged by an Iranian authorities nonetheless largely held by hard-liners, Israel’s genocidal conflict on Gaza and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade ranges with sufficient of a stockpile to provide a number of nuclear weapons if it selected.
A vote depend supplied by authorities put Pezeshkian because the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election. Overall, Iran’s Interior Ministry mentioned 30 million individuals voted in an election held with out internationally acknowledged displays, representing a turnout of 49.6% – greater than the historic low of the June 28 first-round vote however decrease than different presidential races.
Supporters of Pezeshkian, a coronary heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker, entered the streets of Tehran and different cities earlier than daybreak to have a good time as his lead grew over Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator.
Pezeshkian later traveled to the mausoleum of the late Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the chief of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and addressed journalists in a chaotic occasion.
“In this election, I didn’t give you false promises. I did not lie,” Pezeshkian mentioned. “It’s been many years after the revolution that we come to the podium, we make promises and we fail to fulfill them. This is the biggest problem we have.”
Pezeshkian’s win nonetheless sees Iran at a fragile second, with tensions excessive within the Mideast and a looming election within the United States that would put any likelihood of a detente between Tehran and Washington in danger.
Pezeshkian’s victory additionally wasn’t a rout of Jalili, that means he’ll must fastidiously navigate Iran’s inside politics because the physician has by no means held a delicate, high-level safety submit.
Government officers as much as Khamenei, the supreme chief, predicted greater turnout as voting obtained underway, with state tv airing photos of modest strains at some polling facilities.
However, on-line movies purported to indicate some polls empty whereas a survey of a number of dozen websites in Tehran noticed mild visitors and a heavy safety presence on the streets.
Authorities counted 607,575 voided votes – which frequently are an indication of protest by those that really feel obligated to solid a poll however reject each candidates.
Khamenei praised the turnout Saturday regardless of what he alleged was a boycott marketing campaign “orchestrated by the enemies of the Iranian nation to induce despair and a feeling of hopelessness.”
“I would like to recommend Dr. Pezeshkian, the elected president, put his trust in God, the Compassionate, and set his vision on high, bright horizons,” Khamenei added.
Voters expressed a guarded optimism.
“I don’t expect anything from him – I am happy that the vote put the brake on hard-liners,” mentioned financial institution worker Fatemeh Babaei, who voted for Pezeshkian. “I hope Pezeshkian can return administration to a way in which all people can feel there is a tomorrow.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com