Iran reports high turnout just after polls open

Iran reports high turnout just after polls open
Iranian Interior Ministry has reported a massive turnout in presidential polling stations just hours after voting started on Friday morning.

Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said that some five million Iranians have so far cast their votes before mid-day Friday, which he termed 'unprecedented' in comparison with previous elections.

Mahsouli added that the final turnout for the 10th presidential election is expected to be above 70 percent.

According to the minister, no irregularities have been reported so far.

Head of Iran's Electoral Office Kamran Daneshjou also told reporters that the Interior Ministry has taken necessary measures to allow representatives of hopefuls to supervise the polling procedure.

According to Daneshjou, some thousands of ID cards have been issued for the representatives of the candidates to monitor the polling at ballot boxes.

On Friday morning, the polls opened to more than 46 eligible Iranian voters aged 18 and above to elect the next president of the country.

Iranians can vote in more than 45,000 polling stations nationwide, while 304 polls will receive Iranian expatriates in almost 130 countries including Britain, the UAE, Russia, China, Japan, and Syria. Only in the US, more than 30 polling stations will receive Iranians.

daily news world In addition to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is seeking a second four-year term, former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and Secretary of the Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei are vying for the public's votes in the closely contested election.

The winner must collect 50 percent of the votes plus one. If, however, no single candidate wins enough votes, the run-off will be held on June 19.