Iranians actively participate in the elections.

The country's Interior Ministry closely monitors the ongoing parliamentary elections, Iran's Interior Minister Mustafa Mohammad Najjar said addressing the media in Tehran today, IRINN TV channel reported live.

The elections in Iran took off almost two 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.

Mohammad Najjar noted that there is a high turnout by the younger generation of Iranians, and those who participate at the elections for the first time.

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.

Mohammad Najjar spoke of the comprehensive monitoring system that Iran uses for holding the elections.

"There are 47,000 branches connected to the central electoral center," Mohammad Najjar noted. "This center is being closely monitored by the Interior Ministry of Iran".

Mohammad Najjar called on courageous people of Iran to actively participate in the elections. He also thanked the media and journalists for providing news coverage for elections.

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.