The Islamic Republic of Iran recently hosted its legislative elections, marking the first national vote after a large protest movement that occurred at the close of 2022. This significant event saw over 61 million voters invited to participate in the electoral process, which involved the selection of 290 members of Parliament and 88 members of the Assembly of Experts. The latter is an influential body responsible for the appointment of the supreme leader, who holds the highest authority in the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the first to cast his vote, doing so at the Imam Khomeini Hussainia polling station situated in the heart of Tehran. Since the previous elections, Iran has been severely impacted by international sanctions, culminating in a gripping economic crisis. The country has also been at the center of widespread protests and has been embroiled in escalating regional tensions due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Out of Iran’s population of 85 million, over 61 million people are eligible to vote for members of parliament and clerics of the Assembly of Experts, the body that is entrusted with the critical task of selecting Iran’s supreme leader. However, a low turnout is anticipated, as a state television poll disclosed that more than half of the respondents expressed indifference towards the election. The country’s last parliamentary elections in 2020 recorded a turnout of 42.57%, which was the lowest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
On the final day of the campaign, Khamenei underscored the importance of showing the world that the nation is mobilized. Khamenei warned that if people don’t participate, the country’s enemies, including the United States, most Europeans, Zionists, capitalists, and big corporations, would threaten their security. He emphasized that both the United States and Israel, who closely monitor Iranian issues, fear the people’s participation in elections.
