TEHRAN – Voting for parliamentary elections began across Iran on Friday at 8:00 a.m.

Elections are being held in 208 constituencies for a 290-seat parliament.

Nearly 58 million Iranians, out of a population of more than 80 million, are qualified to vote.  

All people above 18 can vote.

Over 2.9 million are first-time voters.

The polls close at 6 p.m. However, polling stations remain open late into the night to give the electorate extra time to cast their vote. 

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli called on people not to delay voting.  He said the Interior Ministry is obligated to close polling stations at 12: p.m.

Vote counting starts immediately after polling stations are closed. The results will be announced on Saturday morning. However, in big cities like Tehran, it takes more time to count votes.

Senior officials have urged people to vote in the election. 

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “Anybody who is interested in the country’s national interests should vote.” The Leader said elections “guarantee national interests”.

Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi said, “Election is the best anti-dote against plots.”

First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said “we should get the people’s message” through elections, “and respect their views.”

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani who cast his vote in the city of Qom, the city he represents in the sitting parliament, called parliament a manifestation of democracy that has an important status in making decisions.

“Definitely, Majlis is one of the pillars of the decision making of the establishment,” Larijani said.

Larijani is not contesting the election this time. He has been heading the parliament for three consecutive terms.
  
PA/PA