Efforts Underway to Let Iranians in North America Vote in Presidential Election
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it has been pursuing diplomacy to allow the Iranian nationals residing in the US and Canada to vote in the upcoming presidential election simultaneous with the polls at home.
The Foreign Ministry has made all arrangements for holding the presidential election abroad and has taken all necessary measures in this regard, the ministry’s spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.
Considering the relatively high number of Iranians residing in the US, the Foreign Ministry has taken all necessary measures to set up polling stations there, he noted.
As regards Canada, Qassemi said Iran hopes to be able to have ballot boxes in that country, despite the fact that Tehran and Ottawa have no diplomatic relations.
The Foreign Ministry is making efforts through diplomatic channels to obtain permission to dispatch ballot boxes to Canada, he noted.
The presidential election in Iran will be held on May 19.
During the previous presidential election in June 2013, Rouhani garnered 50.7 percent of a total of over 36 million votes.
The number of eligible voters in the upcoming election is estimated to be around 1.5 million higher than the 50.5 million in the previous round four years ago.
