Preliminary results have placed a moderate cleric in the lead in Iran's presidential election as vote counting began on Saturday, reports said.
The pro-reform former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani emerged with a strong margin over other six candidates, the main being the conservative Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
Polls closed on Friday. The turnout was high, estimated to be more than 70 percent, for the election held to find the successor for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Voting hours had to be extended.
An outright win for Rowhani would rule out any two-candidate runoff next Friday. The final result is expected late Saturday.
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