The elected Iranian president, Masoud Bezhakian, will take the oath of office before the Parliament in early August, becoming the ninth president of Iran, according to official media reports on Sunday. The Iranian official news agency IRNA quoted a member of the parliamentary leadership, Mojtaba Yousafi, stating that "the inauguration ceremony will be held on August 4 or 5, and he must appoint ministers within 15 days for a confidence vote."
The inauguration ceremony is expected to take place after Bezhakian receives official approval from the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The reformist Bezhakian, 69 years old, won in the second round of the Iranian presidential elections against the hardline conservative candidate Saeed Jalili, according to results announced on Saturday.
However, the powers of the president in Iran are limited, as the primary responsibility for governance lies with the Supreme Leader, who is considered the head of state. The president is responsible for implementing the broad political lines defined by the Supreme Leader at the head of his government. Bezhakian received 53.6 percent of the votes, while his opponent garnered 44.3 percent, out of nearly 30 million votes. The turnout in the second round was 49.8 percent. Iranian newspapers called for "unity" under the leadership of the elected president on Sunday.
