Alwaght- Millions of Iranians are voting in a tight presidential contest between incumbent President Hassan Rouhani and his main challenger, Sayyed Ebrahim Raeisi.
Voting opened at 08:00 local time (0330 GMT) Friday with voters lining up in over 63,500 polling stations. There are more than 56 million Iranians eligible to vote with in this today’s crucial election where voters are also voting to choose members of the country’s City and Village Islamic Councils.
Polls were scheduled to be closeted at 18:00 (1330 GMT), but voting hours are extended to 23:00 (1830 GMT) are likely to be extended to 24:00 as the country has seen in previous elections, amid expectations of a high turnout.
After casting his vote in 12th presidential and 5th Islamic city council elections early in the morning in Tehran, Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out that the presidential election is extremely important. “The destiny of the country is in the hands of the people who choose the head of the executive branch. They should be aware of the significance of this” he added.
“The City and Village Councils Election is also important as it elects those who are in charge of urban and rural services, namely the everyday issues involving the people,” the Leader said.
This year’s presidential race also features two low-key contenders - former deputy judiciary chief and member of Iran’s Expediency Council Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim and former vice president, Mostafa Hashemi-Taba.
Two more consequential candidates, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Vice President Is’haq Jahangiri, dropped out in the final days of campaigning in favor of Raeisi and Rouhani respectively.
Iranians abroad voting
Iranians are also casting their ballots in the country's 12th presidential election at 310 polling stations in 102 countries.
Hassan Qashqavi, the deputy foreign minister for consular, parliamentary, and expatriates’ affairs has said that there would be 55 polling stations in the US, 21 in the United Arab Emirates, 22 in Iraq and 12 in Britain, where Iranian nationals would be able to vote.
Qashqavi, who is also head of the board supervising Iran's presidential election abroad, further stated that necessary measures have been taken to hold and monitor the election.
He added that voting would take place in foreign countries from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and that Iranian ambassadors and representatives are authorized to extend the time if necessary.
Meanwhile Canada has refused to grant permission for Iranians residing in the country to vote in today’s presidential election. Talks between Iran and Canada failed to bear fruit, it has been agreed that several ballot boxes be set up on the North American country's border with the US.
On May 9, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a phone conversation with his Canadian counterpart, Chrystia Freeland, asking her to provide grounds for the Iranian nationals residing in the North American country to cast their votes in the presidential polls.
The Canadian minister, however, said that some “technical issues” needed to be discussed and settled given the absence of political relations between Tehran and Ottawa, closure of Iranian diplomatic sites, and Canada’s domestic regulations on polls involving other countries’ citizens.
Presidential results to be announced gradually
Iran’s Interior Ministry says the results of the country’s presidential election will be announced gradually, reversing an earlier decision to declare the outcome all at once.
“After getting the opinion of the Guardian Council and the resolution of a legal issue, the results of the vote counts in this election will be announced gradually,” said head of the Interior Ministry’s election headquarters Mohammad Hossein Moqimi, according to the ministry’s website. The Guardian Council is tasked with overseeing the election process.
There are 70,000 monitors and 350,000 security enforcement personnel assisting with the election process. The candidates are also allowed to assign a representative to each polling station to observe the proceedings there.
