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TEHRAN, Iran -- In his first public statement since his landslide victory, Iran's President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he wants to create a "modern, advanced and Islamic" role model for the world.

The Tehran mayor -- a hard-line conservative who has said Iran should embrace the principles of the 1979 Islamic Revolution -- was declared the winner of Iran's presidential election early Saturday, garnering almost 62 percent of the votes, the Interior Ministry said.

His taped statement, broadcast on state-run radio and reported by The Associated Press, appeared aimed at easing worries that his ultraconservative views would clash with Iran's attempts to expand its economy and international ties.

Ahmadinejad won 61.6 percent of the vote while his more moderate rival, former two-term President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, received nearly 35.9 percent, according to final results announced Saturday on state television. The rest of the ballots were deemed invalid.

An estimated 23 million votes were cast, or nearly 49 percent of Iran's 47 million eligible voters. In last week's first round of the presidential election, the turnout was close to 63 percent, The Associated Press reported.

The victory has put in doubt Iran's fragile social reform process, started by outgoing reformist President Mohammad Khatami, and raises questions about how Ahmadinejad will handle Iran's nuclear impasse with the West.

CNN correspondent Matthew Chance said the election campaign exposed a deep rift in the nation of 67 million. Ahmadinejad, 48, won the backing of the religious poor to defeat Rafsanjani, who was supported by pro-reform parties and wealthy Iranians fearful of a hard-line monopoly on power in the Islamic state.

"Today is a day when we have to forget all our rivalries and turn them into friendships," Ahmadinejad said on state radio.

"We are one nation and one big family. We should help each other to make a great society," he said.

The election was also marred by allegations of voter fraud, Chance reported.

On Saturday, an official with Iran's Interior Ministry accused Iran's Guardian Council of election fraud and said he was placed under arrest when he objected to voting irregularities, Iran's official news agency said. (Full story)

But Ahmadinejad's landslide win over Rafsanjani, who was largely seen as the front-runner, marked a remarkable comeback.

Ahmadinejad had not been expected to even make it into the runoff, but he managed to pull off a surprising second-place finish in last week's balloting, putting him into the showdown with Rafsanjani.

Polls closed in the presidential runoff about 11:30 p.m. Friday (3 p.m. ET) after several extensions were issued to allow late voters to cast ballots.

Many analysts say Ahmadinejad's victory will deal a blow to those throughout the country who have fought for democratic and economic reforms -- even if supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameinei has the last word in matters of state.

The race between Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad set up a striking choice for Iranians.

Rafsanjani had softened his stance in recent months, calling for improving Iran's strained ties with the West. But Ahmadinejad said relations with Washington were not a cure of Iran's ills.

"This all but closes the door for a breakthrough in U.S.-Iran relations," Karim Sadjadpour, Tehran-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, told Reuters.

Washington has had no formal diplomatic ties with Iran since the revolution and now accuses it of developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, denies the charges.

Ahmadinejad called for embracing the principles of the revolution. He had the support of many vigilantes and popular militias, as well as many poor people. He has said he wants to turn some cultural institutions, created in recent years, into mosques.

Following are recent comments by Ahmadinejad in key policy areas, compiled by Reuters news agency:

U.S. relations

"Relations with the United States are not a cure for our ills."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has no fear about restoring ties but ... how to carry it out must be studied so that the independence, pride and self-esteem of the Iranian nation will not be harmed."

Nuclear program

"Acquiring peaceful nuclear technology is the demand of the whole Iranian nation, and the rulers as representatives of the people must put all their efforts into realising this demand."

"Those who are in negotiations are frightened and do not know the people ... A popular and fundamentalist government will quickly change the country's stance in favour of the nation."

Social and political freedoms

"We did not have a revolution in order to have a democracy."

"People think a return to revolutionary values is only a matter of wearing the headscarf."

"The country's true problem is employment and housing, not what to wear."

Economy

"Currently, the private banks have no positive or constructive role in the economy, rather a destructive one."

"I will cut the hands off the mafias of powers and factions who have a grasp on our oil, I stake my life on this ... People must see their share of oil money in their daily lives."

"The increase in petrol prices has led to an increase in all other prices. The solution is to use public transport."

Internet

Is it a concern? "No ... we cannot shut the doors to the country."

"My own phone bill is so high because my children use the Internet so much."

World Trade Organization

"Iran needs at least more than three years before joining the WTO. We need time and need to defend our industry."

CNN Correspondent Matthew Chance contributed to this report.

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