Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran's presidential election after beating hardliner Saeed Jalili in a run-off vote, a spokesman for the electoral authority said on state television on Saturday.
Pezeshkian garnered 53.7% of votes, while his arch-conservative challenger received 44.3%.
Some 61 million people were eligible to vote for a successor to president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Friday's run-off vote pitted Pezeshkian and Jalili against each other after none of the candidates gained an absolute majority in the first round on June 28.
Polling stations were supposed to closed at 6 pm (1430 GMT). As expected, authorities allowed them to stay open later in many places, but voter turnout still only stood at about 49.8%, according to the electoral authority.
Conservative reformer
Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon from north-western Iran who served in the army during the Gulf War, practised for years in the city of Tabriz.
He ran a low-key campaign calling for renewed trust between the government and Iranians, many of whom have become disillusioned with politics after failed attempts at reform, political repression and an economic crisis.
In the early 1990s, Pezeshkian lost his wife and one of his sons in a road accident. He often appeared at his campaign rallies with his daughter and grandchild.
He served as health minister during former president Mohammad Khatami's second term from 2001 to 2005.
In the TV debates, Pezeshkian described himself as a conservative politician who believes reforms are necessary. Like many politicians from the reformist camp, Pezeshkian has called for improved in relations with the West.
He criticized Iran's strict headscarf requirements for women and campaigned for votes with middle-class positions. He said he was opposed to internet censorship.
Pezeshkian expressed his loyalty to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the powerful Revolutionary Guards, but he said reforms were needed.
Critics say that he will have trouble implementing these reforms due to a majority of hardliners in parliament, however.
Growing public frustration
Out of a total of 80 candidates, the Guardian Council, a powerful Islamic supervisory body that vets the hopefuls, had only authorized six candidates for the election.
Two of six later withdrew, leaving three conservatives and the one more moderate candidate, Pezeshkian. Jalili is a loyal supporter of the leaders at the top of the Islamic Republic's system of power.
The president is only number two in Iran's power structure as Supreme Leader Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters. He is also commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces.
The election came amid a severe economic crisis, as well as tensions with the West and regional powers in the Middle East. Frustration among the public with the enforcement of state authority, especially among the younger population, is running high.
Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in the possibility of seeing major political change at home.
