The Iranian presidential elections kicked off Friday, amid expectations of a low turnout and a clear favorite in hard-line conservative Ebrahim Raisi.

The thirteenth election in the history of the Islamic Republic (since 1979), comes in light of an economic and social crisis that is primarily due to US sanctions, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Four candidates are running for the race, after three of the seven who qualified for the Guardian Council withdrew. The latter faced criticism after excluding prominent names that submitted its candidacy, which raised concerns about the negative impact of this on participation.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei launched the polling process with his vote shortly after 7:00 am (0230 GMT) in Imam Khomeini's Hosseiniya in central Tehran, repeating the call for massive participation.

"Through the people's participation, the country will also achieve great advantages in the international arena," he said, stressing that "what the Iranian people do today determines their destiny and builds their future for several years."

A number of voters came early to the polling stations. Some of them queued in front of a center in the Larazadeh mosque in southern Tehran before the doors opened, according to an AFP journalist.

On the streets of the capital, opinions varied between voters and those who chose not to vote.

"It is important to participate in the elections, and everyone votes according to his opinion. I was elected today," said Mohammad Javad Pourzadeh.

A nurse who only gave her last name, Sahibian, told AFP that she intends to vote for the president because he is "the most qualified candidate,' hoping he can "survive the problems."

Hojjat al-Islam Raisi, 60, head of the judiciary since 2019, is the favorite among the four candidates to win a four-year term to succeed moderate Hassan Rouhani, who is not constitutionally able to run for a third consecutive term.

Raisi's victory, if elected, will strengthen the conservative movement's hold on the joints of the ruling bodies in the Islamic Republic, after its broad victory in the elections of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) last year.

More than 59 million Iranians over the age of 18 were invited to vote in polling stations that will open until midnight (19:30 GMT), in a deadline that may be extended for an additional two hours. Results are expected by Saturday afternoon.

However, a few opinion polls conducted in Iran and local media outlets expected the participation rate to be around 40 percent.