Hassan Rouhani won Iran’s 12th presidential election

Hassan Rouhani has won Iran’s 12th presidential election, receiving a popular mandate for another four years in presidential office.

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli appeared at a press briefing on Saturday to declare Rouhani the winner of the Friday election with 23,549,616 votes, or 57 percent of the total ballots.

Rahmani Fazli said that a total of 41,220,131 votes had been cast, and that the results he was announcing were almost definitive.

The candidate with the second largest number of votes was Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, who garnered 15,786,449 votes, or 38.5 percent.

Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim and Mostafa Hashemi-Taba, the other two candidates, received 478,215 and 215,450 votes respectively.

President Rouhani will speak live on state television at 6:00 p.m. Iran time (1330 GMT) on Saturday.

Iran’s 12th presidential election was held on Friday. Elections were also simultaneously held for City and Village Councils.

Voting hours were extended several times due to a high turnout in the polls.

Six candidates had been approved after vetting by the Guardian Council to run in the election. In the final days of campaigning, however, two of the candidates, namely First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, withdrew from the race in favor of President Rouhani and Raeisi, respectively.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has issued a message commending the Iranian people for their "massive and epic" turnout in the country's twin elections.

"The winner of yesterday's elections, is you, the Iranian people, and the Islamic establishment, which has managed to win the increasing trust of this big nation despite the enemies' plot and effort," the Leader said on Saturday.

The Leader added that the "massive and enthusiastic" participation of the Iranian people, who stood in long lines to reach the ballot boxes throughout the country, was "a clear indication of the strength of the pillars of Islamic democracy."

Elsewhere in his message, Ayatollah Khamenei stated that during the Friday elections, people from all walks of life and various political affiliations took part in elections together and once again voted for the Islamic establishment.

The Leader urged the Iranian people to thank God for their success in holding elections, saying that after going through hectic days and weeks ahead of elections, they must now think about unity and public solidarity, which is undoubtedly an important factor boosting power and might of the nation.

Ayatollah Khamenei also recommended the elected president and all people who will be part of the next administration to pursue “highly-motivated and thoughtful and youthful efforts” in order to do away with the country's problems and do not neglect this right path even for a moment.

Another point reminded by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution was maintaining “national dignity while observing wisdom in international relations” and making efforts to boost the country’s international might, which the Leader said were among priorities in revolutionary and Islamic management of the country’s affairs.

Ayatollah Khamenei also praised presidential candidates for creating necessary fervor for elections, all officials involved in executive and supervisory aspects of the Friday elections, as well as the state-run television and all forces that played a role in ensuring security of the elections.