Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei cast his vote in a ballot box in early hours of the election on Friday 21st, February.

In short remarks after casting his vote, Ayatollah Khamenei said that “the election day is a national day and I congratulate this day to all fellow citizens across the country.”

He went on to say that elections guarantee the interests of the country. “Anybody who favors the country’s interest takes part in elections.”

The Leader called on the Iranian nation to participate in the election as early as possible.

Election officially began at 8 A.M. across Iran with some 58 million people eligible to vote. A total of 7,148 candidates, including dozens of Iranians from the religious minorities, are running for the parliament. There are 290 seats in the parliament up for grabs.