A political analyst tells Press TV that Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s voter turnout excels that of the US, praising the mass participation of Iranians in the 11th presidential election as outstanding.
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On Friday, millions of Iranian voters headed for polling stations to cast their ballots and choose the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 11th president as well as their representatives in the city and village councils.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cIt is excellent; it is beyond anything we see in presidential elections in America; wish we had the same thing here. There has been excitement for days,\u201d Paul Sheldon Foote, professor at California State University, said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The commentator said that voter turnout in the presidential election in the United States was around 50 percent while it dropped down significantly in other elections. <\/p>\n
He said that ignorance and the belief that the two Democratic and Republican parties acted in the same way accounted for Americans\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 unwillingness to take part in elections.\n<\/p>\n
Comparing elections in the US and Iran in terms of democracy, he said that Americans have a small number of media networks that have the power to \u00c5\u201climit who can speak.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cWe claim we have freedom of speech; it is true that you can post anything you want on the Internet but a small number of people are going to see it,\u201d the analyst added. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Nearly 50.5 million Iranians, including more than 1.6 million first-time voters, were eligible to vote in the June 14 elections. <\/p>\n
The voter turnout in Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 11th presidential election has been around 72.7 percent, according to informed sources.\n<\/p>\n
AR\/HGH
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