Ballots Being Counted in Iran Presidential Election
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Counting ballots in Iran’s presidential election got under way in the wee hours of Saturday after 19 hours of voting.
Polling stations across Iran closed at 2 am local time on Saturday after nineteen hours. The Interior Ministry had extended the voting several times.
More than 59,310,000 Iranians were eligible to vote.
The ballot count began upon the formal closure of the polls.
There are four candidates seeking presidency in Iran, namely Mohsen Rezaee, Seyed Ebrahim Raeisi, Seyed Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, and Abdolnasser Hemmati.
Three other hopefuls, Alireza Zakani, Mohsen Mehralizadeh, and Saeed Jalili had dropped out of the race.
A run-off would be held a week later if none of the candidates wins a majority, which is at least 50 percent plus one vote.
The 13th presidential election was held simultaneously with the 6th City and Village Councils elections, midterm elections for the 5th Assembly of Experts, and midterm elections for the 11th Parliament.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has quashed rumors about the outcome of the election, stressing that any official results would be made public only by his ministry.
