Who is Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s next President?  Premium

Baraye, Iranian ballad, protests, Grammy award, President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian, reform, challenges, Iran's future, international relations.

For change in the minds of fanatics...

For the longing for a normal life...

For the girl who wished she was a boy,

For women, life, freedom.

The lines are from Baraye, a popular Iranian ballad written by Shervin Hajipour, after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, while in the custody of the country’s infamous morality police. Amini was arrested for not wearing the hijab, the mandatory headscarf, “properly”. When Amini’s death sparked weeks-long nationwide protests, Baraye emerged as “the anthem” of the protesters. The song won the first ever special merit award for Best Song for Social Change at the 65th Grammy Awards in February 2023. Shervin is now in jail in Iran, serving a three-year term.

The protests over the death of Amini have died down, but “the anthem” remained immensely popular in Iran, especially among the youth. It became so popular that Masoud Pezeshkian, the reformist candidate in this year’s presidential election, used the song in his campaign to draw in voters. Many saw this as Mr. Pezeshkian indirectly joining the cause of the protests, while critics of the Islamic Republic called it hypocrisy as Shervin was still in jail. Either way, Mr. Pezeshkian’s unconventional methods seemed to have helped him strike a chord with Iran’s voters, who had to make a choice between two starkly different candidates: one who sings “the anthem” and the other, a “superrevolutionary” who wants stricter enforcement of the Islamic moral code and tougher policies towards the West.

In the June 28 first round, in which less than 40% voters turned up, Mr. Pezeshkian won 42.5% of votes, while conservative Saeed Jalili finished second with 38.8% votes. As neither candidate got 50%, they faced a run-off on July 5. There was a consolidation of conservative voters behind Mr. Jalili, who has also been close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mr. Pezeshkian’s chances were dependent on a larger turnout by Iran’s liberal-minded voters. The run-off saw 50% turnout, and Mr. Pezeshkian, the 69-year-old cardiologist, won 53.3% of votes to become the Islamic Republic’s ninth President. Mr. Jalilee polled at 44.3%.