Iran's President Hassan Rouhani Wins Re-Election

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has won re-election by a large margin.

According to Iran's Interior Ministry as reported by Press TV, Rouhani won about 57% of the vote with more than 23.5 million votes against his main challenger Ebrahim Raisi's 15.7 million. Rouhani appeared to have benefited from a large turnout that forced polls to stay open until midnight, NPR's Peter Kenyon reports. More than 40 million out of 56 million eligible voters cast their ballots.

In a live speech carried by State TV, Rouhani said Saturday that the vote showed Iran's willingness to work with the international community, and a rejection of hardliners, according to the AP.

First elected in 2013, Rouhani is seen as a reformer in Iran's largely conservative society. He is best known abroad as the president who made a nuclear deal with the West in 2015, in which the country agreed to certain limits on nuclear development in return for the lifting of some sanctions.

His conservative opponent Raisi attacked the weak state of the economy under Rouhani. Raisi "lambasted Rouhani for seeking foreign investment and appealed to religious conservatives," The Guardian noted. - NPR

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani Wins Re-Election

On Election Day, Iran Chooses Between Gradual Reform And Conservative Return