Voting ends in 2nd round of Iran’s parliamentary election

Tehran: Voting in the second round of Iran’s 12th parliamentary election ended at 10 p.m. local time after 14 straight hours, according to reports.

The election was held on Friday at nearly 11,500 polling stations in 22 constituencies across 15 provinces and 47 counties, Xinhua news agency reported.

The voting, initially scheduled to end at 6 p.m. local time, was extended thrice.

A total of 90 candidates competed for the remaining 45 positions in the Iranian Parliament in the runoff, as 245 seats have already been decided in the first round held on March 1.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, voted at a polling station in Tehran minutes after the voting began at 8 a.m. local time on Friday.

In an address to reporters after casting his ballot, the Iranian leader highlighted the elections’ importance for the country, saying the second round of the election was as important as the first one.

After the voting was concluded, Iran’s Constitutional Council Spokesman, Hadi Tahan Nazif, said the vote-counting process had started at some stations, adding that no violation had been reported during the voting process.

On Thursday, Tahan Nazif said almost 40,000 observers would supervise the second round of the election.

Nazif added the 12th Iranian Parliament is expected to begin its term on May 27 officially.