Alwaght-Iranians are casting their ballots on Friday in two important elections in what is expected to be a tight race for the Parliament (Majlis) and Assembly of Experts.
Nearly 55 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the two elections for the 290-seat Parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts.
As many as 4,844 candidates, including about 500 women, are competing for a place in the Parliament.
As many as 161 others are running for the Assembly of Experts. Members of the Assembly serve eight-year terms while MPs are elected every four years. The Assembly of Experts elects and supervises the duties of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the elections have an added importance as he cast his vote in the opening hours of the voting at a polling station in downtown Tehran on Friday.
“Elections are always important but in certain junctures they have more importance,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Ayatollah Khamenei called on all Iranians to participate in the elections, saying “voting is both a right and a duty.”
“Anybody who loves Iran, anybody who loves the Islamic Republic and national dignity, grandeur and glory is advised to participate in the elections,” the Leader said.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani texted mobile phone users urging them to vote, saying participation was needed "to build the future of the country with plenty of hope."
Latest polls suggest that both principalists and moderates are once again the largest political parties in the race with the so-called reformists trailing.
Free and fair elections are held regularly in the Islamic Republic with outstanding participation of the masses.
