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.

Polls open in Lebanon for general elections

Lebanese people will go to the polls to vote in an election which will pit Hezbollah against the current US-backed majority in Lebanon's parliament.

Tight security precautions have been taken to prevent tensions in the small Mediterranean country, as polls will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (0400 GMT to 1600 GMT).

50,000 soldiers and police have been deployed across the country to secure the environment for 3.2 million people eligible to vote in the country.

daily news More than 200 international observers from the EU and other institutions and countries will observe the election.

A tight race is predicted between the US-backed 14 March alliance, which has a small majority in parliament, and its main rival, Hezbollah-led bloc.

According to Lebanon's complex power-sharing system, the 128 seats in the parliament should be equally divided between Christians and Muslims.

The country's parliament speaker should also be a Shia Muslim, as the president must be a Maronite Christian and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim