Moderate cleric Rowhani wins Iran presidential election

TEHRAN - Agence France-Presse

Iranian moderate presidential candidate, Hassan Rowhani casts his vote at a polling station in Tehran on June 14 during the first round of the presidential election. AFP photo

Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani has won Iran's presidential election, the interior minister announced today, ending eight years of conservative grip on the nation's executive.

Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said Rowhani won outright with 18.6 million votes, or 50.68 percent.

He said 36.7 million people - 72.7 percent of the electorate - had voted on June 14 out of an eligible 50.5 million.

The incumbent, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, had been constitutionally barred from standing again after serving two consecutive terms.

Najjar added that Tehran's conservative mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, was runner-up with 6.07 million or 16.55 percent of the votes.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, who advocated resistance in Tehran's atomic talks with world powers, came third with 4.16 million (11.35 percent).

Former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai and ex-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati won 3.88 and 2.26 million votes respectively.

Turkey congratulates Iran’s new president

ANKARA

Turkey has congratulated Iran’s new president, Hasan Rowhani, and pledged to continue its friendly relations with Iran on the basis of common interest.

“We wish the new Iranian government luck in its service for the prosperity and comfort of the friendly Iranian people,” a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said on June 16.

It also said Turkey would continue to pursue its cooperation and good neighborly relations with Iran on the basis of common interest. Rowhani, who won the presidency in the first round of elections, is known as a moderate politician.