TEHRAN -- Millions of Iranians cast their ballots Friday to choose the next president in the election runoff, with the Interior Ministry declaring that the turnout had increased significantly compared to the first round. 
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Friday and were expected extended until midnight. National television aired images of long lines at some polling centers across the country.
The runoff followed the June 28 election in which Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili led the race, but neither won a majority. 
Both men hope to replace the 63-year-old late President Ebrahim Raisi who passed away in a May 19 helicopter crash that also killed the country’s foreign minister and others.
Interim President Muhammad Mokhber said he hoped the results would be announced by the end of the night or Saturday morning.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei hailed the people’s “active involvement” in the presidential election after casting his vote at just after the polls began. 
“Thank God this is a good day; the day of participation and active involvement of our dear people in a significant national event: the elections,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. 
“I have heard that people’s passion and interest is higher than the first round. May God make it this way and if it is, it will be gratifying,” the Leader said.
“God willing, our dear people will be able to vote and choose the best,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei said, “At this stage, people should be more motivated to finish the job and have our president tomorrow.” 
“May God help the nation succeed and prosper the country and make all those who are struggling in this way subject to his grace and mercy.”
More than 61 million Iranians over the age of 18 were eligible to vote, with about 18 million of them between 18 to 30. 
Mohsen Eslami, spokesperson for the national election headquarters, told reporters that the voting process was going smoothly at around 59,000 polling stations nationwide. 
“So far, we’ve seen more people coming in to vote than in the first round. We’re optimistic that this trend will keep up,” he said.
The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry pointed to reports indicating increased turnout at polling stations outside Iran. 
Judiciary chief Gholamhussein Mohseni-Ejei underlined the need for a massive turnout in the election.
“If the president is elected with higher votes, he has more public support, and thus he can carry out his plans better and faster as the country’s chief executive,” he told reporters.
Mohseni-Ejei said the president is responsible for implementing Iran’s Constitution and upholding the rights of the people.
He reminded that the president is also the head of the Supreme National Security Council, the Supreme Council of Economic Coordination, the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which makes him a key figure in addressing security, economic, and cultural issues.
Iran’s chief of police Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan said the runoff election was underway in full security, calm and strength.
Pezeshkian and Jalili took part in two televised debates during which they discussed Iran’s economic issues and international relations.
During his campaign, Pezeshkian pledged to bolster diplomatic and economic engagement with the world, including the West, and showed interest in pursuing talks to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, which has been put on the back burner due to American policy of procrastination.
While campaigning, the 58-year-old Jalili criticized the former administration which has endorsed Pezeshkian for having signed the 2015 deal which promised Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
Jalili said the accord, which the United States withdrew from in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump, “did not benefit Iran at all”.
“I voted for Jalili because the next president should not repeat the previous mistake and sign a new agreement with the West,” said Ali, a 38-year-old university professor, at a polling station in central Tehran.
“They deceived us once and that’s enough. Their promises cannot be trusted,” said Ali, who gave only his first name.