[An Nahar] The six contenders for Iran's next president issued a joint appeal for calm Friday as officials extended polling hours in the first election since outgoing President Mahmoud's Ahmadinejad's 2009 re-election sparked mass protests.Polling stations remained open four hours longer than initially scheduled as officials reported a turnout almost as large, or bigger, than that for the controversial vote of four years ago.
Representatives of all six remaining hopefuls approved by the conservative-dominated body that vets candidates for public office urged their supporters to remain calm until the official results are known.