Iran’s President-elect Pezeshkian to be sworn in next month

Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in a meeting a day after the presidential election, at the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian will be sworn in before parliament in early August as the Islamic Republic’s ninth President, state media reported on July 7.

“The swearing-in ceremony of the president will be held on August 4 or 5,” said the official IRNA news agency, quoting Mojtaba Yosefi, a member of parliament’s presiding board.

“The President will have 15 days to present his proposed ministers to the parliament for a vote of confidence.”

Iranian Presidents-elect are required to take an oath before parliament before officially taking office.

The swearing-in ceremony takes place after the President-elect receives an official endorsement by the Islamic republic’s supreme leader.

Iran’s President is not head of state, and the ultimate authority rests with the supreme leader — a post held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the last 35 years.

Mr. Pezeshkian won a run-off election on Friday against the ultraconservative Saeed Jalili to replace president Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.

The 69-year-old reformist secured more than 16 million votes, around 54%, with Mr. Jalili winning more than 13 million, roughly 44%, out of about 30 million votes cast.

Turnout was 49.8%, Mr. Eslami added, up from a record low of about 40% in the first round.

On July 7, Iranian newspapers published front-page photos of Pezeshkian and called for “unity” under the President-elect.