Baku, Azerbaijan, May 10
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif asked Iranians residing in Canada to cast their votes for the May 19 presidential election at polling stations in the US.
Zarif said that based on Canada’s regulations, polling stations for other countries’ citizens should be located in diplomatic sites and Iran has no diplomatic site in Canada due to lack of political relations between Tehran and Ottawa, Mehr news agency reported May 10.
So the Iranians in Canada can go to the nearest polling station in the United States to cast their votes, Zarif said, adding several ballot boxes will be active in different cities of the United States during the upcoming election.
Earlier, Zarif called on Canada to lay the ground for the Iranian nationals residing in the North American country to cast their votes in the presidential election.
“Iranians living abroad are extremely keen to participate in the determination of their countries’ future,” Zarif said in a phone conversation with Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on May 9.
Freeland, for her part, commended the positive presence of the Iranian communities in her country and said the Canadian government is mindful of the significance of the presidential election for the Iranian residents.
She, however, added that some “technical issues” should be discussed and settled given the absence of political relations between Tehran and Ottawa, closure of Iranian diplomatic sites, and Canada’s domestic regulations on polls involving other countries’ citizens.
According to the official, about 400,000 Iranian citizens reside in Canada.