Iran's Interior Ministry announced on Friday a final two-hour extension until midnight to the voting process for the country's presidential election runoff between candidates Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili.

Millions of Iranians, both inside and outside the country, are casting their ballots to elect the successor of late President Ebrahim Raisi, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash alongside several other officials on May 19.

Polling stations opened at 8 am local time (0430 GMT) on Friday and were initially scheduled to close at 6:00 pm (1430 GMT).

Mohsen Eslami, the spokesperson for the national election headquarters, noted an increase in voter turnout in the runoff while announcing the latest extension.

Initial results are expected to be announced on Saturday.

"We have passed the turnout figure of the previous round," he confirmed, adding that exact figures will be released later.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Tehran reported that voter turnout has reached 42%, with the number of voters surpassing 27 million.

The run-off of the Iranian presidential elections is witnessing a voter turnout higher than that of the elections on June 28.#AlMayadeen English's correspondent, Hussein Assaf, reports on the elections from #Tehran.

Our correspondent said that the competition between… pic.twitter.com/GtHu6JpP6X

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 5, 2024

It is noteworthy that, last week, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi extended the voting time for the first round of election by six hours. The second round came after none of the four candidates in the June 28 election secured an absolute majority, leading to a runoff between Pezeshkian and Jalili. Over 24 million Iranians voted in the first round.

Eslami also mentioned that in some low-populated villages where most residents have already voted, counting has already begun.

He cited the summer heat, especially in southern provinces, as a reason for extending the voting hours, allowing people to visit polling stations more comfortably.

Eslami emphasized that the voting process is proceeding smoothly at approximately 59,000 polling stations nationwide.

"We've seen more people coming in to vote than in the first round. We're optimistic that this trend will keep up," he told reporters in a briefing at 3 pm local time.

Siamak Rahpeyk, deputy head of the Guardian Council, which oversees the election, praised the election process, saying, "We are witnessing a good trend in the election and problems have not been serious."

Approximately 61 million people are eligible to vote, both within Iran and abroad, according to the Interior Ministry, with around 60,000 polling stations established nationwide and 344 other polling stations in 100 countries.

In the same context, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted increased participation in overseas polling stations.

"Reports from ambassadors and heads of Iranian missions abroad indicate that the turnout of Iranians overseas during this election period has been magnificent," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

Kanaani mentioned that Iranian embassies and missions also reported that conditions have been favorable for Iranian expatriates to participate in the elections, with no significant issues so far.

Read more: Iranian presidential race remains tight amid higher voter turnout