NOURNEWS - High-ranking Iranian officials, including Judiciary Chief and presidential candidate Ebrahim Rayeesi, President Hassan Rouhani and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, cast their votes in the presidential and the Islamic city and village councils elections in the first hours of Friday morning.
The three high-profile officials cast their vote in Tehran, calling on people to show a high turnout in elections.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei was the first official who cast his vote early Friday morning.
In the voting ceremony, Ayatollah Khamenei urged the Iranians to actively take part in the election, saying, "Election day is the day of the Iranian nation; today they are the main director. It is people who, by going to the polls and voting, determine the general and fundamental task of the country for the coming years."
"The reason that we repeatedly invite people to participate in elections is that the first effect of this presence is reflected on the people themselves; of course, with this presence, the country and the Islamic Republic will also achieve great advantages in the international arena," he added.
Other high-ranking current and former officials, including Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Commander Brigadier General Esmayeel Qa'ani, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Army Commander Major General Seyed Abdolrahim Moussavi, Secretary of Iran's Guardian Council (GC) Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, Chairman of City Council of Tehran Mohsen Hashemi, former Chairman of City Council of Tehran Mehdi Chamran, Chairman of the Expediency Council Sadeq Amoli Larijani, former Iranian Speaker Ali Larijani, Iranian Supreme Leader's top adviser for international affairs Ali Akbar Velayati, Health Minister Saeed Namaki, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Member of the Iranian Parliament and former presidential candidate Alireza Zakani, Parliament’s Vice-Speaker and presidential candidate Seyed Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader and member of the Assembly of Experts Seyed Ahmad Khatami, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, Army Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and presidential candidate Abdolnasser Hemmati, Head of Iran's Supreme court Seyed Ahmad Mortazavi Moqaddam, Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council and former IRGC commander and presidentical candidate Mohsen Rezayee, Iranian President's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi, former Vice-President and Head of the Department of Environment Masoumeh Ebtekar, former Vice-Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Seyed Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi Fard, former Education Minister Mohsen Haji Mirzayee, Iranian Vice-President and Head of the Management and Planning Organization (MPO) Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran and former presidential candidate Saeed Jalili, grandson of late Founder of Islamic Revolution Seyed Hassan Khomeini who is also the Custodian of Imam Khomeini's shrine and reformist politician and former Governor of Isfahan Province and former presidential candidate Mohsen Mehr Alizadeh, also cast their votes.
Iranians began voting in the early hours of Friday in a contest among 4 candidates in the 13th presidential elections and also for the 6th Islamic city and village council elections across the country.
State television showed people's presence at polling stations in several cities and towns, quoting officials that over 59 million Iranians out of the more than 85 million population are eligible to vote.
Polls close in at 12:00 midnight although the interior ministry has been allowed to extend voting hours until 2:00 am on Saturday to prevent overcrowding due to high turnout. Ballot counting will start at midnight and preliminary results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing. The elections are also for city and village councils.
For Iranians, the most pressing domestic issue is the economy. In addition, COVID-19 is still a serious problem for Iran.
In addition to presidential elections, people are going to the polls to participate in the 6th Islamic city and village council elections across the country as well as midterm Assembly of Experts elections in 4 provinces, including Tehran, Khorassan Razavi, Qom and Mazandaran, and midterm parliament elections in several provinces, including Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Gilan, Markazi, Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad and Hamedan.
The Iranian interior ministry on May 25 declared the names of 7 hopefuls qualified by Iran’s vetting body, the Guardian Council, to run in the presidential race.
The 7 approved candidates included Iran’s Judiciary Chief Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi, Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council and former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezayee, Iranian reformist politician and former Governor of Isfahan Province Mohsen Mehr Alizadeh, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Saeed Jalili, Iranian Member of the Parliament Alireza Zakani, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati and Parliament’s Vice-Speaker Seyed Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi.
The disapproved candidates had the opportunity to protest at their disqualification vote and the qualified candidates could start their campaign as of May 25 until 24 hours before elections.
Several candidates, including former Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan and former Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi, dropped out of the race in Rayeesi’s favor before the Guardian Council declared its decision on their qualification.
In the past few days, Alireza Zakani and Saeed Jalili announced their pullout from the Friday presidential election in favor of Ebrahim Rayeesi, while Mohsen Mehr Alizadeh declared his withdrawal in support of the main reformist-moderate camp nominee Abdolnasser Hemmati.
Rayeesi appears to be the front-runner among four candidates running for president in Iran, according to the polls.
NOURNEWS