Participation in Iranian Elections Exceeds 75% Amidst International Anticipation

Local Editor

The Iranian Elections did not betray spectators' expectations; voting stations closed its doors after extending twice considering the huge number of voters that exceeded 75% amidst a local-regional-international anticipation of who will be the new President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

With the presidential race's fire gradually calming down, the percent of participation in the elections skyrocketed, in which 50 million and a half electors voted in 60,000 voting stations nationwide.

In parallel, the country didn't witness not one security incident, neither did the candidates insult each other and agreed upon sportsmanship and respect for the law.

According to unofficial sources, the percent of participation in the voting process exceeded 75%, around 36 million voters in the country. Also, 70 percent of the votes cast by the Iranians residing abroad were counted.

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the turnout of the Iranians living abroad in the presidential elections is "higher" compared to previous ones.

On this note, the process of counting ballots commenced in all Iranian cities once the voting stations closed on Friday night, and the official percent of voting and the partial preliminary results will be announced on Saturday morning.

The six candidates running in the presidential election were President of the Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Research Hassan Rohani, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former telecommunications minister Mohammad Gharazi.

Former Majlis speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel and former First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref withdrew their candidacies.

The latest results of Iranˈs presidential election vote counting Saturday morning showed that Hassan Rohani is widely ahead of his rivals with 3,219,322 votes.
His main rival Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has secured 1,095,671 votes.

Iran's chief negotiator and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Saeed Jalili has won 868,301 votes ranking 3rd in the race for the Islamic Republic's presidential post so far.

The election headquarters said former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Mohsen Rezayee Mir-Qaed stands 4th with 708,941votes.

Iran's former foreign minister and Supreme Leader's Senior Advisor for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati has gained 412,941 votes ranking 5th in the race, and former Iranian oil and telecommunications minister Seyed Mohammad Qarazi has so far come last with 82,141 ballots cast in his favor.

Source: News Agencies, edited by website team