Iranian nationals, residing in Kuwait, show their ink-stained fingers after casting their ballots for presidential and municipal elections yesterday at the Iranian embassy in Kuwait City. / AFP / Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The Iranian expatriates in Kuwait enthusiastically participated in the election yesterday to deliver their verdict on President Hassan Rouhani at the Iranian embassy and at the cultural attaché in Kuwait. According to the Iranian Ambassador to Kuwait Dr Ali Reza Enayati, the turnout was quite high and the voters started arriving at the embassy even before the polling booths opened at 8 am.

"The voting was still going on even at 7 pm as the voters continued to show up even late in the evening," he told Kuwait Times yesterday. According to the embassy estimates, around 40 percent of the Iranian citizens in the country cast their votes in the crucial election.

Polling was extended in Iran as voters continued to flock to cast their ballots, the outcome of which will have an impact on Rouhani's efforts to rebuild ties with the world. According to analysts, Rouhani faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a much tougher line with the West.

"After collecting the ballots and counting them, the results will be dispatched to the central voting committee in Tehran," the ambassador informed. Enayati thanked the Kuwait police for helping the embassy in conducting the election in a smooth and fair manner.

By Nawara Fattahova, Staff Writer