Rouhani wins Iran's Presidential election

Moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani won Iran's presidential election on Saturday, the interior ministry said, scoring a surprising landslide victory over conservative hardliners without the need of a second round run-off.Interior minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar announced on state television that Rouhani secured just over 50 percent of the ballot based on a 72 percent turnout of 50 million eligible voters.

Mr Hassan Rouhani ... got the absolute majority of votes and was elected as president," Najjar said.

He has pledged to promote a policy of "constructive interaction with the world" and to enact a domestic "civil rights charter".

Rouhani's wide margin revealed a broad reservoir of pro-reform sentiment with many voters, undaunted by restrictions on candidate choice and campaign rallies, seizing the chance to repudiate the dominant hardline elite over Iran's economic woes, international isolation and crackdowns on social freedoms.

In an apparent move to convey political continuity to both domestic opponents and western adversaries, Khamenei said that whatever the result of Friday's election, it would be a vote of confidence in the 34-year-old Islamic Republic.

"A vote for any of these candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic and a vote of confidence in the system," the top Shi'ite cleric's official Twitter account said.

Iran's rial strengthened about 4 percent against the dollar on Saturday after partial vote tallies pointed to a resounding Rouhani victory, web sites tracking the currency said.

Celebratory crowds assembled near Rouhani's headquarters in downtown Tehran a few hours before his victory was confirmed.

"Long live reform, long live Rouhani," a reporter at the scene quoted the crowds as chanting.

Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, a hard-line conservative, lagged behind with about 16 percent of the votes. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, he too a hard-line conservative, earned 11 percent. The voter turnout was 72.7 percent.

President-elect Hassan Rohani, sixty four years old, is known as a moderate conservative. He has been stressing the need to improve ties with Western nations, and is backed by both moderate and reformists groups.

Rohani served as the country's chief nuclear negotiator under former President Mohammed Khatami, and adopted a flexible stance toward Western nations.

 Iran is suffering from international sanctions over the country's nuclear program, he received support from people who wanted change. Rohani issued a statement following his victory, pledging he will do all he can to revive the economy. He urged the world to acknowledge the rights of Iran. He said nations who tout open dialogue should speak to the Iranian people with respect.

Moot  focus on whether Iran and Western nations, deadlocked over nuclear and Syrian issues, will be able to build a new relationship