TEHRAN- The Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs has expressed congratulations to the Iranian government and nation over the successful holding of the elections on behalf of President Nicolas Maduro as well as the Latin American nation’s government.

In a message of congratulation posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, Yvan Gil, praised the civility and enthusiasm of the Iranian people who attended the electoral polls, according to Press TV.  

The Venezuelan official congratulated the people and government of Iran for their democratic exercise in the Friday elections to choose the people's representatives in the 12th Islamic Shura Council (Majlis Parliament), as well as the sixth Assembly of Experts, a key clerical body.

Gil, who was transmitting the congratulatory message on behalf of Maduro and the Venezuelan government, praised the intelligent people of Iran who attended the electoral polls to foil the ceaseless enemy plots against their unity.

Preliminary results from the Iranian parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections showed Saturday that more than 40 percent of the eligible voters took part in the elections.

Gil said the huge public presence at the polls legitimized the elections as a sign of the voters' conscience, sovereignty and fervor for their homeland, noting that the Iranian elections were “a clear emblem of cohesion and national unity in the Persian nation.”

The Iranian Interior Ministry said out of a total of 61.17 million people, comprising 30.94 million men and 30.22 million women who were eligible to vote in the two elections, more than 25 million people cast their ballots at the polls to elect 290 members of the parliament and 88 members for the Assembly of Experts.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that through their active participation in the elections, the Iranian nation once again thwarted the conspiracies of the country's enemies and demonstrated their foresight and wisdom, filling the Islamic Republic with pride.

The president described the elections as a symbol of "national unity". "The opinion of the people determines the destiny of the country," Raisi noted in a message posted on social media.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has described the parliament as the solid pillar of the Islamic Republic, and as the late architect and founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini put it, "The Majlis is the essence of the Nation's virtues."