Hassan Rouhani wins Iran presidential election

Hassan Rouhani wins Iran presidential election
Mr Rouhani had a surge of support after endorsement by reformists
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Iran election
Profile: Hassan Rouhani
In pictures: Iranians vote
Iranian voters' views
Iran's economic troubles

Reformist-backed cleric Hassan Rouhani has won Iran's presidential election, securing just over 50% of the vote and so avoiding the need for a run-off.

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was well behind in second place.

Turnout was estimated at 72.2% among the 50 million Iranians who were eligible to vote to choose a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was ineligible to stand again.

Mr Rouhani has pledged greater detente and engagement with world powers.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is scheduled to ratify the vote on 3 August. The new president will then take the oath in parliament.

'Best candidate'

Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced that Mr Rouhani had won 18,613,329 of the 36,704,156 votes cast. This represented 50.71% of the vote.

Mr Qalibaf won 6,077,292 votes to take second place (16.56%).
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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
Iran voters reflect hopes for future
Profiles: Iran election candidates

Saeed Jalili came third and Mohsen Rezai fourth.

Mr Najjar said that any presidential candidates unhappy with the results would have three days to lodge complaints to the Guardian Council.

The winning candidate needed more than 50% of all ballots cast, including invalid ones, to avoid a run-off.

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 Mr 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.
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“Start Quote


The question now remains: Will the hardline establishment recognise the message of change that the electorate have sent them?”Arash Ahmadi and Amara Sophia ElahiBBC Monitoring
Time for change?

Mr Rouhani thus went into polling day with the endorsement of two ex-presidents - Mr Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was disqualified from the race by the powerful Guardian Council, a 12-member body of theologians and jurists.

One of Mr 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.

The hardline candidates included Mr Qalibaf - who is seen as a pragmatic conservative - and nuclear negotiator Mr Jalili - who is said to be very close to Ayatollah Khamenei.

The other three candidates were Mr Rezai, a former head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi.

One eligible voter, Mahdi, a software developer from Mashhad said he had not cast a ballot as he was "against the Islamic Republic".
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Iranian press reaction
Jomhuri-ye Eslami (hardline): The significant turnout conveyed a few messages. Firstly, the foreign enemy should realise that Iran's domestic conflicts and challenges can never prevent people from voting.
Khorasan (conservative): The high turnout has enhanced Iran's image and strategic credibility.
Etemad (reformist) : This election can be considered as one of the most effective and at the same time the most sensitive to have been held in the 34 years since the Islamic Revolution.
Resalat (conservative): The government that will be formed by the epic vote of the people should stand against the excessive demands of the West.
Hassan Rouhani in his own words

But he added: "Having said that, I hope Rouhani wins, because he is the best candidate... Rouhani won't change things dramatically, he will probably only make things slightly better."

'Intimidation'

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.

Two of them, former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi and senior cleric Mehdi Karroubi, became leaders of a nationwide opposition known as the Green Movement, after its signature colour.

They were placed under house arrested in February 2011 when they applied to stage a protest in support of the anti-government uprisings which were sweeping the Arab world. They are still being detained.

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.


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