A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, May 19, 2017. Iran's presidential election began on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his vote in the ballot box. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

TEHRAN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Interior Ministry extended the voting hours of the country's presidential election by five hours, state IRIB TV reported Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that voters can cast their ballots until 23:00 p.m. local time (1830 GMT) on Friday.

The ministry added that the doors of the voting stations will be closed at 23:00 p.m. local time.

Iranians flocked to the polls following the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who cast his vote in the ballot box at 8:00 a.m. local time (0330 GMT).

Khamenei had urged high turnout of the nation in the vote.

Over 60,000 ballot boxes have been prepared nationwide to receive votes.

Some 56 million Iranians are eligible for voting, and will choose the next president for a four-year term from the four candidates.