Azerbaijan, Baku, March 2 /Trend S.Isayev, T. Jafarov/
An effective parliament will solve the existing problems within the country, Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told the journalists after casting his vote, Mehr news agency reported.
Prior to the elections, Rafsanjani, who served as Iran's president for two consecutive terms (1989 - 1997) said that the turnout for rallies will show the depth of the people's love for and loyalty to the revolution and the Islamic establishment.
Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, chairman of the Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi, Great Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani also casted their votes in the elections.
Ayatollahs urged people to actively participate in the electoral process.
The elections in Iran took off two over hours ago, with country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei casting first vote.
Journalists and reporters from Germany, Austria, Spain, the U.S., Ukraine, Italy, Brazil, Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic, Russia, France, Japan, Finland, Canada, South Korea, Lebanon and Venezuela are covering the parliamentary elections in Iran.
Over 3,000 candidates compete in the parliamentary elections. The elections take place in 46,062 polling stations. They are held in 14,307 polling stations by using the mobile ballot boxes.
According to the law, the parliamentary elections must last 10 hours, but if there is a need, the interior minister may extend the voting time.
The election results may be made public in 48 - 72 hours after the election day (from March 2). For the first time, the electronic voting will be widely used in Iran. The electronic voting takes place in the main polling stations of 14 provinces.
About 48 million people have the right to vote in Iran. According to Iranian News Network, a lot of people have been active in casting their votes at the 9th parliamentary elections in the country.