TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, who advocates improved ties with the West, on Saturday won a runoff presidential election against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, the interior ministry said.

Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes, around 54 percent, and Jalili more than 13 million, roughly 44 percent, out of about 30 million votes cast, electoral authority spokesperson Mohsen Eslami said.

Voter turnout was 49.8 percent, Eslami added, up from a record low of about 40 percent during the first round.

The election came against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions due to the Gaza war, a dispute with the West over Iran’s nuclear program, and domestic discontent over the state of Iran’s sanctions-hit economy.

In his first comments after winning, Pezeshkian said the vote was the start of a “partnership” with the Iranian people.

“The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy, and trust. I extend my hand to you,” Pezeshkian said in a post on social media platform X.

On Tuesday he had said that, if he won, he would “extend the hand of friendship to everyone.”