Moderate Rouhani elected new Iranian president after landslide victory

Hassan Rouhani, the new Iranian president. AFP photo

Moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani was elected as new Iranian president, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said on state television on Saturday.

Najjar said 72 percent of the 50 million eligible voters had turned out to vote, and that Rohani had secured 18.6 million votes, just over the 50.71 percent of the vote needed to avoid a run-off.

Rouhani, 64, led talks with world powers over Iran’s nuclear ambitions under the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami.

He has vowed to mend Iran’s ties with the international community, and move to ease Western economic sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear drive.

Rouhani received significant boosts earlier this week when reformist candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, withdrew in his favor. His campaign was also endorsed by former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

In contrast, Iran’s big-hitting conservatives failed to organize themselves around a unity candidate, suffering what appeared a decisive split in their support base as a result.

Here are the final results of the Iranian elections as calculated by Reuters from the total number of votes cast and rounded.

Total Votes Cast: 36,704,156

1. Hassan Rouhani: 18,613,329 / 50.71 percent
2. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf: 6,077,292 / 16.56 percent
3. Saeed Jalili: 4,168,946 / 11.36 percent
4. Mohsen Rezaie: 3,884,412 / 10.58 percent
5. Ali Akbar Velayati: 2,268,753 / 6.18 percent
6. Mohammad Gharazi: 446,015 / 1.22 percent