Huge numbers of Iranians went to the polls to vote in hotly-contested presidential elections on Friday, with officials saying the turnout was “unprecedented”

People gathered outside polling stations even before they opened at 8am, with queues forming at mosques and schools across the country throughout the morning

Friday June 12

President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, seeking a second term, said while voting in Tehran that the people's strong, revolutionary and clear decision would bring about a bright future for the nation

Some exiled Iranians staged protests against what they said was a ”lack of democratic process in Iran and the brutality of the regime in undermining human rights”

Mr Ahmadi-Nejad remains popular among Iran’s poor and in the provinces but is facing tough competition from Mir-Hussein Moussavi, a moderate who served as prime minister during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s

Friday June 12

Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the main challenger to the president, and his popular wife, Zahra Rahnavard, cast their vote in the Ershad mosque in Shahr-e-Rey. It was thought a high turnout would favour him

A high turnout could be positive for Mr Moussavi, whose supporters have stayed away from previous polls. Voting was scheduled to end at 7pm but officials looked set to keep stations open longer to give voters the chance to cast their ballots