Video: Iran goes to polls to elect President Ahmadinejad's successor The Ayatollah made the comments as he cast his vote in the country's presidential elecitons on Friday, and added that if Iranians were supposed to wait for America's approval before acting they would be "losers." Meanwhile in Washington, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that while the US did not think the Iranian election process was transparent, it was not discouraging the Iranian people from voting. Six candidates remain in the race to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; a moderate, four conservatives and a hard-liner. Iranians have traditionally shown a high interest in voting, but the country's president does not set major policies or make important social or political changes. That power rests with the ruling theocracy and its protectors, led by the immensely powerful Revolutionary Guard.