By Staff, Agencies Polls opened in a snap presidential election in Iran to replace President Ebrahim Raisi who lost his life in a helicopter crash in the country's northwest.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei cast his ballot at a polling station in Tehran just as the voting began on Friday.

“I pray for the best days and years for our beloved nation from the Almighty God.

Election day is a day of joy and happiness for us Iranians, especially when the election is for the selection of the president as the next few years of the country will be determined by this choice of the people,” he said after voting.

The Leader further added: “We recommend our dear people to take voting and participation in this important political test seriously and participate.” Imam Khamenei signed voting papers at a polling station in Tehran on Friday.

He also stated, “Durability, consistency, dignity and prestige of the Islamic Republic in the world depends on the presence of the people.” “In order to prove the health and sincerity of the Islamic Republic's system, the presence of the people is necessary and obligatory,” he added.

The voting started at 8:00 a.m.

[04:30 GMT] on Friday.

It will continue for 10 hours until 6:00 p.m., with the minister of interior having the authority to extend the voting time if necessary.

More than 61 million people are eligible to vote, the head of the election headquarters said.

“I hope that God will choose the best option for this country and that the coming years will be good years and people will be satisfied with their choice,” Imam Khamenei said.

Four candidates are running for the president after two others withdrew from the race.

Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, dropped his candidacy and urged other candidates to do the same “so that the front of the revolution will be strengthened”.

On Thursday, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani also withdrew, as he did previously in the 2021 election in which Raisi was voted into office.

Former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf remain in the race, so do Massoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon by profession and a member of parliament from the northwestern city of Tabriz, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former interior minister.