Raeisi Elected President

Principlist Ebrahim Raeisi won a landslide victory on Saturday in Iran’s 13th presidential election, replacing incumbent President Hassan Rouhani after his maximum two terms in office.
Raeisi secured 17.9 million votes out of the 28.9 million cast in Friday’s election, some 61% of the votes, a resounding victory for the 60-year-old judiciary chief, IRNA reported.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday expressed gratitude to the people who headed to the polls in large numbers despite economic woes, the Covid-19 pandemic and foreign pressure. “Nothing could overcome the Iranian people’s determination.”
“The big winner of yesterday’s election are the Iranian people. The spectacular sights of your gatherings in polling stations across the country was a clear sign of your firm resolve and hope,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Raeisi’s nearest rival was secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei, a long way behind with 3.4 million of the votes (11%), followed by former governor of the Central Bank of Iran who garnered 2.4 million votes (8.3%). The parliament’s first deputy speaker, Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, came in fourth with just under one million votes (3.4%).
Some 3.7 million of the votes were spoilt. Nearly 48.8% of the eligible population participated in the 2021 election. 
The three presidential candidates conceded defeat to the president-elect on Saturday morning and congratulated him on his sweeping victory. 
Hemmati, Raeisi’s main contender, took to his Instagram page, “I hope that your administration, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei, brings welfare and prosperity to our nation.”
President Hassan Rouhani and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf separately visited Raeisi in his office to congratulate him in person.

Transition Period

After meeting Raeisi, Rouhani announced that the president-elect will officially take office on August 3.
“Starting today, until 45 days from now when the country’s responsibilities are transferred to the new government, I will stand by the president-elect,” Rouhani said.
The president promised a smooth transition of power and instructed his Cabinet to fully cooperate with Raeisi’s team. 
In his televised victory speech released later in the day, Raeisi stated, “I will do everything in my power to solve the country’s problems, especially in regards to people’s livelihood challenges.”
He thanked all those who supported him throughout the electoral process and expressed hope that “the public’s broad participation in the election greatly help the future government.”
Raeisi had gained 15.8 million votes during his first run for presidency four years ago. He has served as attorney general, deputy chief justice, member of the Assembly of Experts and custodian of Astan Quds Razavi. 
Nearly 60 million people were eligible to vote in the 2021 presidential poll. Voting began at 7 a.m. local time and continued until two hours past midnight.
The results for the midterm Assembly of Experts and midterm parliamentary elections, as well as the city and village councils’ elections are gradually being released. Several cities throughout the country saw the holding of four concurrent elections on Friday.