Voter turnout in Iran's 2024 parliamentary election was the lowest in history since the establishment of the Islamic regime.| Photo: Abedin Taherkenareh/EFE/EPA
The first results of this Saturday's parliamentary elections point to a major victory for Iran's conservatives, a result above expectations given the number of disqualified reformist candidates. Friday's elections were the first since protests sparked by the death of young Mahsa Amini in 2022; According to preliminary data, they had a turnout of around 41% of the 61 million eligible voters, the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic, which has always attached great importance to the high number of votes as proof of its legitimacy and popular support.
Around 15,200 candidates are applying for the 290 seats in parliament 1,713 of them women. Of the first 129 seats counted, 99 were in the hands of conservative candidates and 17 were won by reformists, according to the official IRNA news agency, citing Interior Ministry data. A further 13 seats will have to go through a second round of voting because the candidates did not receive at least 20% of the vote in their subsequent constituency.
In addition to the parliamentary dispute, 144 clerics are running for 88 seats on the Council of Experts, the body that elects the Islamic Republic's supreme leader in the event of a vacancy. This body is elected every eight years and could play a crucial role this term as Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is already 84 years old.
The election was dominated by conservatives after the Guardian Council, a body that vetoes laws passed in parliament and political candidates, disqualified a large number of reformminded candidates. The elections were also marked by calls for a boycott from politicians and activists, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi.
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