Millions of Iranians, inside and outside the country, are casting their ballots to choose the next president in the election runoff. The Interior Ministry says the participation has increased compared to the previous round. 

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Friday and are scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m. (1430 GMT), with the possibility of extensions by the Interior Ministry. 

Mohsen Eslami, the spokesperson for the national election headquarters, told reporters in a briefing at around 3:00 p.m. local time that people’s participation has increased compared to the previous round.

The voting process is going smoothly at around 59,000 polling stations nationwide, he said.

“So far, we’ve seen more people coming in to vote than in the first round. We’re optimistic that this trend will keep up,” the spokesperson added.

The second round of voting comes after the June 28 election where Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili were the leading candidates, but neither won a majority.

Pezeshkian has a background as a health minister and is a legislator from Tabriz in the northwest. Jalili holds experience as a diplomat and the chief nuclear negotiator.

Over 24 million people voted on June 28.

This election will choose a new president after President Raisi passed away in a helicopter crash on May 19.

Initial results are expected to be announced on Saturday.

The election headquarters says 61 million people are allowed to vote.

Meanwhile, Iranians living in other countries began visiting polling stations early on Friday to cast their votes.

Some 344 polling stations worldwide are organized by Iran’s foreign ministry.

This is a developing story…

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