Venezuela has congratulated Iran in celebration of its elections, praising the exercise as a show of democracy. 

In a post on X, the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yvan Gil, said, "The President [Nicolas Maduro] and the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela congratulate the People and Government of the sister Islamic Republic of Iran for the celebration of the democratic exercise carried out in the 12th elections for the Consultative Assembly or Majlis (parliament) and the 6th elections for the Assembly of Experts this March 1, 2024, in Iranian territory."

In an elongated statement, he commended the Iranian people's "enthusiasm, civility, and intelligence, for hitting the polls" and voting against their nation's enemies and their plots and pans for Iran.

He emphasized that the turnout at the polls showcased the Iranian people's conscience and dedication to their homeland, adding that the elections were “a clear emblem of cohesion and national unity in the Iranian nation.”

On March 1, Iranian voters took to the polls for the country's Parliament and Assembly of Experts. Polls commenced nationwide at 8 a.m. local time, with over 61 million eligible voters. Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei exercised his voting right at a Tehran polling station within the initial minutes of the voting period.

The Iranian elections foil foreign plots

Remarking on the event, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the Iranian people once again foiled the foreign plots being made by hostile foreign states through their high election turnout rate.

Raisi stressed that Iran's enemies had made strenuous bids to undermine the elections of the Shura Council and the Assembly of Experts and to have the election take place without a significant turnout.

The "robust" participation of the Iranian people in the election "struck down all the aspirations of the front of arrogance and thwarted all its plans it spent hundreds of billions [of dollars] to achieve," he said.

The Iranian President thanked all of the Iranian people individually, "I appreciate the efforts of all political parties, security forces, executive bodies, and every single person who worked around the clock to raise awareness among the public and ensure that the elections take place in a sound manner."

As the statement came out from the Iranian President, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that preliminary results of the general elections indicated a major loss for reformists in Tehran, with the Front for Islamic Revolution Stability leading. 

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