Updated 06/13/2009 12:02 AM
Local Iranians Await Their Homeland's Election Results
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As Iran awaited the results of its presidential election Friday, Iranian immigrants who voted in Queens expected great changes in their home country.
Exit polls showed an extremely close race between hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Iran experienced record high voter turnout, with crowds forming at many voting sites.
Ahmadinejad has clashed with the West over Iran's nuclear program and for questioning the Holocaust.
Mousavi, a former prime minister, is running as a reformist who favors greater freedoms and improved ties with the United States.
Residents at an Islamic center in Woodside, Queens noted that the election included the first globally-televised debate between the candidates, and hoped that it was the signal of changes coming to Iran.
"In a way we all want our voices to be heard. We are the next generation of Iran, we are going to go back and we are the ones who are going to rebuild our country," said local Foad Faraziah, who showed off the blue ink on his fingertip that indicated that he voted. "So we are excited. We want to show that we are not going to be silenced. We're frustrated and we're showing our frustration."
"A lot of enthusiasm between the people who are voting, the Iranian people, especially in New York. They've been coming out in groups," said another Iranian New Yorker. "This is the first year after the Iranian Revolution that we see that many people come out to vote for their favorite candidate. They're showing signs that things could change soon in Iran."
"I'm very excited, very happy because I can make a future for my country," said another. "I'm happy for all of the people of my country and I hope the new president changes everything for my country."
"That's the first time that's happened in Iran. To me that's one step closer to democracy and that's all the people of Iran are looking for," said a voter.
Official results were not expected until Saturday, but the outcome is not expected to sharply change Iran's main policies, which are still controlled by the unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.