TEHRAN (Tasnim) � European Union�s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday hailed the recent parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections held across Iran on Friday, and wished the best for the Iranian nation.

�Following #IranElections2016, wishing all Iranians the best for the future of their country,� Mogherini said in a post in her Twitter account.

Polling stations opened on Friday morning and were scheduled to close after 10 hours. But the higher-than-expected turnout in the elections was enough to convince the Interior Ministry to extend the voting time three times.

Some 55 million Iranians were eligible to cast their ballots at around 53,000 polling stations across the country.

Iran�s Interior Ministry spokesman said on Saturday morning that early results from Friday�s parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections show that more than 33 million people have voted as of this time.

Hossein-Ali Amiri told reporters in Tehran that the figure will go up as more ballots are being counted.

Out of around 52,000 ballot boxes, more than 40,000 have been examined, he added.

The process of counting the ballots in Tehran is still in progress, and a run-off will need to be held in some major cities, Amiri noted.

4,844 and 161 candidates have been running for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, respectively.

There are 290 seats in the Iranian parliament, elected by direct vote of people in nationwide election for four years.

By Tasnim News Agency