Iranians Flock to Polls in Presidential Election

FNA reports said voters are standing in long queues to cast their ballots in favor of their candidate.

Authorities appeared overwhelmed by the large number of people who began lining up even before polling stations opened, with many Iranians complaining of long waits of up to two hours for casting their ballots.

Voting will last 10 hours, but it could be extended if necessary. Counting of the ballots will start at 24:00 local time and final results will be announced in 24 hours after the election.

The four applicants qualified to stand the upcoming presidential election are incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi Khamene, ex-Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi and Principlist politician and former commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Mohsen Rezai Mir-Qaed.

Candidates started official campaigning on May 22, which lasted for 20 days and ended on Thursday morning as the Iranian law requires all candidates end election campaign 24 hours before the polls open.

Analysts believe that Ahmadinejad and Mousavi are the main two rivals in the 10th presidential race in the Islamic Republic.

Ahmadinejad's supporters are more from the rural areas and small towns with a population of 15,300,000 and 19,600,000, respectively, while Mousavi more enjoys the support of residents in large cities where 11, 260,000 people are eligible to vote.

According to presidential election laws, all Iranian nationals above 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Interior Ministry said that around 46.2 million Iranian citizens are eligible to vote.

Head of Iran's Electoral Headquarters Kamran Daneshjoo said that a number of 45,713 ballot boxes have been stationed in 368 cities and 558 districts inside the country while 304 ballot boxes in 32 polling stations will gather the votes of the Iranian expatriates in 130 world countries, including the United States, Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Observers predict a high turnout similar to previous elections in the Islamic Republic in the post-revolution era.

The next president of the country will be elected if one of the four vote-getters manages to secure 50 percent plus one of the votes, otherwise, a runoff between the two top contenders on June 19 will determine the next president.

The Iranian interior ministry has said the final results of the presidential election will be declared a day after the event, i.e. June 13.

People in Tehran and Golestan Provinces should also vote on mid-term Experts Assembly election today.

FNA will inform you of the election results at the earliest and round the clock.