Interior Ministry: Reformer ahead in run-off election for presidency in Iran according to initial results
Peseschkian and Djalili ran for the succession of the late Amtsinhaber Ebrahim Raisi, who was fatalely injured in a helicopter crash on May 19th. In the first round of voting in the previous week, according to official reports, Peseschkian received 42.4 percent of the votes, and Djalili came in second with 38.6 percent. Since neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the votes, a runoff was held on Friday.
The voter turnout in the first round was only 40 percent - the lowest since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. A total of 61 million citizens were called to vote.
In the run-off election, Said Jalili and Ebrahim Raisi, both contenders for the Presidency due to Raisi's previous fatal helicopter accident, faced off. The Ministry of the Interior announced that Raisi secured a majority in the run-off, becoming the new President of Iran. After the results were declared, the former Ministry of the Interior official, Said Jalili, conceded his loss.
