Iranians vote in parliamentary election

TEHRAN, March 3 (MNA) – The Iranian people flocked to polling stations across the country on Friday to vote for representatives to fill the 290-seat parliament for the next four years. The turnout was so high that the Interior Ministry was compelled to extend the deadline for casting ballots by two hours, to 10:00 p.m. local time. Tehran Governor General Morteza Tamaddon said that the turnout in Tehran Province was much higher in comparison with previous parliamentary elections. “Tehran set a new record in terms of participation in the Majlis election,” Tamaddon told reporters. He said that certain polling stations in Tehran and nearby cities ran out of ballot papers. There were 3,467 candidates contesting the election, and about 48 million people were eligible to vote. It was the 9th parliamentary election since the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan and the Interior Ministry both said that there was no major security threat associated with the election anywhere in the county. Increase in voter turnout Iran`s Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaii said that according to the reports published until 11:00 a.m. – three hours after the polling stations opened – voter turnout showed an eight to nine percent increase in comparison to that of the last parliamentary election in 2008. Asked about the people’s enthusiasm for the election, he said that in some polling stations, the people reportedly had queued to vote four hours before the election began.