TEHRAN, Feb. 19 (MNA) – President Hassan Rouhani called on the Iranian nation to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections, saying challenges can be resolved by people’s presence and participation in the country’s affairs.

Speaking at the cabinet session on Wednesday, Rouhani said, "To resolve people’s problems, we must all be together and in doing so, the government and the parliament can cooperate with each other.”

He said Iranians have created many points in history by their active presence in different turning points, adding, “On February 21, people should make another point in history.”

The 11th round of parliamentary elections will be held on February 21. The race will be held for 290 parliamentary seats in over 200 constituencies across the country's 31 provinces.

Noting that problems are definitely resolvable through unity, empathy, integrity, and solidarity, Rouhani said, “In November, when the enemies wanted to take advantage of some incidents, people came on stage and displayed a lasting manifestation of their unity, integrity and national security.”

“In addition to people’s presence in November, it was the martyrdom of our dear genera, Martyr Soleimani, that people did an astonishing thing and left the entire world and the region in awe and nobody thought that the relationship between the people and the armed forces are this much close.”

The president added, “Nobody knew that the fight against terrorism is this much important for the Iranian people, and nobody thought that the security of the Middle East and our neighbors is this much important for these people.”

“In fact, Martyr Soleimani was the symbol of fighting terrorism and protecting stability and security in the region and our national security, and people’s presence showed that all of what the Americans thought about the Iranian nation was in fact a miscalculation,” he added.

The president, elsewhere in his remarks, referred to the February 11 demonstrations – marking the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution – saying, “I saw people more motivated this year and this is very important to note that 41 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the same motivation was seen in people as the first anniversary in 1980.”

The other day that people should make epic is February 21 at the ballot box, he said, adding, “The noble people of Iran need to differentiate between some points; one is that we go to the ballot box to choose the best for the Islamic Consultative Assembly [parliament], which is a very important body.”

“It is very important for our future and no one must say that I do not care about who goes to the parliament because my friends’ eligibility has not been approved,” he concluded.

MNA/President.ir