The following is the full text of comments made by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, to the press on May 19, 2017 after His Eminence voted in presidential and city and village councils elections.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I thank Allah the Exalted for the blessing of democracy, elections and the presence of the people. This is a great blessing. Thankfully, our people too are grateful for this blessing because as you see, they are participating.
My advice is that they should participate in as large numbers as they can and that they should do so as soon as possible. I believe that good deeds should be done as soon as possible and that such deeds should not be postponed.
I believe that presidential elections are very important. The fate of the country is in the hands of the people as they elect the head of the executive branch. Therefore, they should pay attention to the significance of this task.
City and village councils elections are important as well because the individuals who will be elected will be in charge of civic and rural services – matters related to the daily affairs of the people. That election is important as well and they should participate in a vigilant, careful and well-informed manner. This is my advice to all the people.
I would like to thank you dear brother and the IRIB officials and I also thank the reporters who are busy carrying out the important task of reporting the news.
Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy
