Reformer Massoud Pezeshkian wins presidential election

A new era may be dawning in Iran. The victory of reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian was announced on the morning of Saturday, July 6. He won 16 million votes, against 13 for the ultraconservative Said Jalili. The elections had been organized in haste, following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident on May 19.

Iranians, who have suffered for years under international sanctions and a lack of freedom, are divided over the victory. “I am very happy, (…) it is more appropriate”confides a man. “It doesn’t matter to me, the situation will only get worse”laments another. This is not the first time since the beginning of the Islamic Republic that Iranians have elected a reformist president. This was the case with Hassan Rohani in 2013, who had raised many hopes, before the disappointment.

Massoud Pezeshkian, a surgeon by profession who raised his three children alone, advocated in the campaign for an Iran that was more socially tolerant and more open to the West, in particular to obtain the lifting of sanctions. He had criticized the repression of the demonstrations that followed the death of Mahsa Amini. In Iran, however, all institutions remain under the authority of the supreme leader, Ali Khomeini.