According to state television, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has won re-election, CNN reported Saturday. Rouhani defeated conservative challenger Ebrahim Raisi.
"The National Media (IRINN) congratulate the victory of Mr. Hassan Rouhani in the presidential election," Iranian state media channel IRINN announced in an on-screen news ticker.
Rouhani won 57 percent of the vote, or 23,549, 616 votes, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said.
Rouhani, a moderate, was a key architect of the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States, the European Union and other partners and his first term was marked by an emergent international engagement.
More than 40 million Iranian voters flocked to polling stations Friday, and by Saturday morning more than 25 million votes had been counted, according to the head of Iran's Interior Ministry State Elections Committee.
No sitting President has failed to win a second term since 1981 and Rouhani's engagement with the outside world resonated with voters who have disliked the country's isolation., CNN reported.
About the Author
