Colombian Journalist: Voters Turnout In Todayˈs Election Indicates Freedom Of Speech In Iran

Tehran, June 15, IRNA – A Colombian journalist said here Friday that high turnout in presidential election is an indication of freedom of speech in Iran. Catalina Gomez made the remarks in an interview with IRNA today. Over 400 journalists from 200 foreign media are covering Iranˈs 11th presidential election nationwide. They traveled to Iran last week to cover this important event. Some 51 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the presidential election. The six candidates running in Iran’s presidential election are Head of the Expediency Council’s Strategic Research Center Hassan Rohani, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former telecommunications minister Mohammad Gharazi. Former Majlis speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel and former first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref withdrew their candidacies earlier this week./end