Raisi wins Iran's presidential election

Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi won Iran's presidential race by securing over 60 percent of votes, the Iranian Interior Ministry announced on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

"Ebrahim Raisi won the first place with 17,926,345 votes, and has been elected by our dear people as president, to act as trustee of the executive apparatus," Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said in a press conference in the afternoon.

Out of 59,310,307 eligible voters, 28,933,004 votes were issued, amounting to a turnout of 48.8 percent, he noted.

Earlier in the day, Iran's outgoing President Hassan Rouhani visited the president-elect in his office and greeted him on the election.

"Starting on Aug. 4, Raisi will be the president of all of us, and everyone will fully support him and his legitimate government," Rouhani said in a joint press briefing with Raisi.

Rouhani offered his full cooperation and that of his cabinet with his successor, in order to guarantee a successful transfer of powers.

Analysts say Raisi secured people's vote by drawing on the improvement of economic conditions which have been seriously affected under the U.S. sanctions and COVID-19 pandemic.

He has introduced himself as the rival to aristocracy, inefficiency and corruption.

During the presidential TV debate on June 18, he said that people wanted to see a palpable improvement in their livelihood, which would be a priority of his administration.

Raisi noted that to reduce the prices of the essential goods in the domestic market, reliance on foreign currency resources is required to be minimized through achieving self-sufficiency in the production of such products.

Meanwhile, he said that housing is also a main concern of people, estimating that his administration would build 4 million housing units in the next four years.

He has urged for participatory policy in implementing his programs, saying that "with everyone's efforts and by creating change in various executive departments, we will have a strong Iran."

As for foreign policy, Raisi has announced his priority for cooperation and interaction with the world.

"Foreign policy is a system of interaction with all countries, especially neighbors," he said.

"We will interact with those who do not intend to be enemies, in a friendly, dignified and authoritative manner," Raisi added.