Iranian presidential candidate and reformist Massoud Pezeshkian, flashes the V-sign for victory after casting his vote during the presidential election in Tehran on June 28, 2024. Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s only reformist candidate in the latest presidential election, has risen from relative obscurity to become the ninth president of the Islamic republic on July 6, 2024. Pezeshkian, 69, won around 53.6 percent of the vote in a runoff election against the ultraconservative Saeed Jalili.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on July 6 for his win in Iran’s presidential runoff election.

“Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship for the benefit of our peoples and the region,” Mr. Modi wrote on social media platform X.

India and Iran have warm ties despite Tehran’s pariah status among Western countries including the United States, at the same time as New Delhi pursues greater security cooperation with Washington.

In May, both countries signed a contract to develop and equip the long-stalled Chabahar port project in Iran, prompting Washington to warn that Indian firms working on the project risked sanctions.

Mr. Pezeshkian received around 54% of the vote while ultraconservative rival Saeed Jalili got around 44% in the second round of the poll.

An election was not due until 2025 but was called early after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

Electoral staff count ballots at a polling station after voting ended in Iran’s run-off presidential election between Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, in Tehran, Iran July 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian was leading in runoff presidential elections against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, according to early results released on July 6 by the interior ministry.

Officials have so far counted more than 11 million ballots for Pezeshkian and around 9 million for Jalili, electoral authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

Editorial | Waiting for the reformist: On the Iran election

The final result will be announced later on Saturday.

Iran held the first round of its snap presidential election last week which was marked by a record low turnout.

Only 40% of Iran’s 61 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the first round – the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The first round saw Pezeshkian, a sole reformist candidate, leading the polls running against three conservative figures with Jalili coming second and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in third place.

As none of the candidates secured more than 50% of the votes, a runoff round between Pezeshkian and Jalili was held on Friday.

Mr. Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, earned the support of Iran’s main reformist coalition including ex-president Mohammad Khatami and moderate former president Hassan Rouhani.

Mr. Jalili, 58, is noted for his uncompromising anti-West position and rallied a substantial base of hardline supporters and received backing from other conservative figures.

The snap elections were originally slated for 2025 but were brought forward after the unexpected death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a May helicopter crash.

The ballot comes against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions over the Gaza war, a dispute with the West over Iran’s nuclear programme, and domestic discontent over the state of Iran’s sanctions-hit economy.