Some 70.6 percent of the Iranians eligible to vote in Iran’s upcoming presidential election are expected to turn out at polling stations on Election Day, a new poll has found.

Some 63.5 percent of respondents to a recent poll by the Research Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said they “will participate” in the presidential election — due on May 19 — and another 7.1 percent said they “will probably participate” in the polls.

The poll was conducted on a sample of over 38,000 people aged above 18 in the capital, Tehran, provincial capitals, as well as in two populated cities and 10 villages from every one of Iran’s provinces from Sunday to Tuesday (April 30-May 2).

A graph depicting responses to an IRIB poll about voter turnout in Iran’s 12th presidential election

Some 23.6 percent of the respondents said they “will not participate” in the presidential election; 1.2 percent said they “will probably not participate;” and 4.6 percent said they were yet to make up their minds whether to vote or not.

The results of the new poll, which was conducted following last Friday’s live debate among presidential candidates, show a meaningful increase in the number of people taking part in presidential election.

A previous survey conducted by the IRIB before the live debate, showed that only 56.1 percent of participants would take part in presidential poll.

Some 29.8 percent of the respondents said they “will not participate” in the presidential election; 1.6 percent said they “will probably not participate;” and 4.8 percent said they were yet to make up their minds whether to vote or not.

Experts have attributed the rise in the number of people willing to vote to the impact of the televised debate, which was the first live debate among presidential candidates.

During the debate, various candidates explicitly challenged each other and discussed major issues of the highest interest to Iranian voters.

The majority of the respondents to the poll (76.1 percent) also said that they used the IRIB to get news about and updates on the presidential election.

Iran’s 12th presidential election will be carried out on May 19, which is a Friday, a weekend holiday, across the country. According to election authorities, Iranians residing abroad will also be able to vote at polling stations that will be set up in more than 140 countries.

The last presidential election in Iran saw a turnout of 72.7 percent. Some 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote in that election.

Some 55 million people are eligible to vote in the presidential election.

Iranian presidential candidates are seen during a live debate on state TV, in Tehran, April 28, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The six candidates in the election are the incumbent, President Hassan Rouhani; Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf; Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi; Es’haq Jahangiri; Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim; and Mostafa Hashemi-Taba.

May 19 will also see the simultaneous holding of elections for City & Village Councils. The IRIB poll found that approximately 69 percent of those eligible for voting will cast their ballots at those elections.

According to the poll, 61.4 percent of respondents said they “will participate,” and 7.3 percent said they “will probably participate” in those elections.

Another 24.9 percent said they “will not participate;” 1.5 percent said they “will probably not participate;” and 4.9 percent said they were still undecided about participation in the elections for City & Village Councils.