Moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani has a clear lead in Iran's presidential election, the interior ministry said Saturday.
Rouhani, a former top nuclear negotiator, collected 14.2-million votes out of 27.6-million counted by 5pm (12:30 GMT), the ministry said.
If repeated at the remaining polling stations, his 50.8% tally would be enough to give him outright victory without recourse to a second-round run-off.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was in distant second place with 4.37-million votes or 15.6%.
He was followed by Saeed Jalili, Iran's current top nuclear negotiator, with 11.4% and former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai with 11.3%.
Former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati and Mohammad Gharazi trailed with less than 10% each of the vote.
More than 50.5-million Iranians were eligible to vote to elect a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was constitutionally barred from standing again after serving two consecutive terms.
Surprise victory
Rohani's solid lead over conservative rivals in preliminary vote counting could be the makings of a surprise victory over favoured hardliners.
The outcome is unlikely to transform relations between Iran and the outside world, the Islamic Republic's disputed policy on developing nuclear power or its support of Syria's president in the civil war there – all sensitive security matters that are the domain of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But the president does wield important influence in decision-making in the sprawling Shi'ite Muslim nation and major Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) state of 75-million, and could bring a change from the confrontational style of Ahmadinejad, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.
Rohani's wide early margin revealed a major reservoir of pro-reform sentiment whereby many voters seized a chance to repudiate the dominant hardline elite over Iran's economic woes, international isolation and crackdowns on personal freedoms despite restrictions on candidate choice and campaigning.
If he wins, Rohani has signalled he will promote a foreign policy based on "constructive interaction with the world" and enact a "civil rights charter" at home.
In an apparent attempt to convey political continuity to both domestic opponents and Western adversaries, Khamenei said that whatever the result of Friday's election, it would be a vote of confidence in the 34-year-old Islamic Republic. – Reuters (Marcus George and Yeganeh Torbati); AFP