Iranians began voting on Friday in a parliamentary election that is unlikely to change the Islamic Republic’s troubled relations with the United States, after thousands of candidates were barred from the field in favor of hardliners, APA reports citing Reuters.
State television said polling started at 0430 GMT. Voting is set to run for 10 hours, with about 58 million Iranians eligible to vote for the representatives in the 290-member parliament.
Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the first to cast his vote.
“Voting is a religious duty...which will also guarantee the national interests of Iran,” Khamenei said after he voted, broadcast live on state TV.
“I am urging Iranians to vote early.”
With Iran facing growing isolation on the global stage and discontent at home over economic hardships, analysts have said the turnout will amount to a referendum on the leaders’ handling of political and economic crises.
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