Former health minister Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s runoff presidential election against the more intractable former nuclear bargainer Saeed Jalili and is asking citizens to support him as he vows to negotiate more closely with the West, loosen the country’s harsh headscarf law, and restore a 2015 nuclear deal.
There reportedly is doubt among many Iranians that the 69-year-old heart surgeon can keep his campaign promises since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has a strong grip on all state matters, is the final authority in the Islamic Republic and is surrounded by hardliners.
Pezeshkian also will have his work cut out to reach even his limited goals amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with Hezbollah, and over fears of Tehran’s uranium enrichment to near-weapons-grade levels.
Iranian authorities said Pezeshkian won the election with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million votes. Iran's Interior Ministry said overall 30 million people voted in an election that was held Friday without internationally recognized monitors.
Observers inside the country said most of those eligible did not turn out to vote.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson, on condition of not being named as per the State Department’s normal practice, told VOA’s Persian Service that the elections in Iran “were not free or fair” and that a “significant number of Iranians chose not to participate at all.”
“We have no expectation these elections will lead to fundamental change in Iran’s direction or more respect for the human rights of its citizens,” the spokesperson said. “As the candidates themselves have said, Iranian policy is set by the supreme leader.
“The elections will not have a significant impact on our approach to Iran, either. Our concerns about Iran’s behavior are unchanged. At the same time, we remain committed to diplomacy when it advances American interests,” said the spokesperson.
Video sent to VOA’s Persian Service showed empty voting stations and numerous eyewitnesses and citizen journalists in Iran reported a low turnout.
The second round of voting to determine the successor to the late President Ebrahim Raisi took place amid reports of internet outages in some cities, including Tehran, Ahvaz and Rasht.
According to the Telegram channel Eteraz Madani Bazar, the internet was cut off in several cities, including Ahvaz and Rasht, and its speed was severely reduced in others, including the capital, Tehran.
Some social media users speculated that the action was taken to prevent the publication of news and pictures related to empty voting stations.
The Interior Ministry said initial reports showed the turnout Friday was about 50%, which is higher than the first round of voting in June.
According to the statistics announced by the Islamic Republic, the participation rate in the first round of voting was about 40%. That marked the lowest turnout in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"In spite of the low participation numbers, [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has been relatively successful in creating the illusion of false competition inside the country for an external audience," Kasra Aarabi of the U.S.-based group United Against Nuclear Iran, told VOA.
The U.S. government says Iran’s elections are not free or fair because its rulers disqualify candidates who are not sufficiently loyal to Khamenei.
Aarabi said there is "no meaningful difference" between Pezeshkian and Jalili "because all strategic policy is determined by Khamenei."
More than 61 million Iranians 18 or older were eligible to vote in the presidential election. Voting was to end Friday at 6 p.m. but was extended until midnight to boost participation.
Raisi, who died in a May helicopter crash, had been seen as a potential successor to Khamenei.
Michael Lipin contributed to this report. Some information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.