Iran's Rouhani wins re-election bid

By Mustafa Melih Ahishali

TEHRAN

Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani has won a landslide victory in Iran's presidential election, according to official results.

Rouhani, 69, snatched 57 percent of the 41.2 million votes cast in Friday's poll, Interior Minister Abdul Reza Rahmani Fazli told a press conference on Saturday.

He received 23.5 million votes against 15.7 million for his conservative rival Ebrahim Raisi, Fazli said.

Rouhani was elected Iran's president in 2013 after clinching some 51 percent of roughly 37 million votes cast. He has pledged to restore the economy, improve relations with the West, promote women’s rights and advance the rights of the Islamic republic’s ethnic and religious minorities.