Iran's parliamentary election was twinned with a vote for 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an influential body that has the task of choosing Khamenei's successor.
Turnout for Iran’s parliamentary election, seen as a test of the clerical establishment’s legitimacy, appears to have hit a historic low of around 40%, according to unofficial reports in Iranian media on Saturday.
Heavyweight moderates and conservatives stayed away from Friday's election and reformists called it unfree and unfair as it was mainly a contest between hardliners and low-key conservatives loyal to Islamic revolutionary ideals.
Mohammad Khatami, Iran's first reformist president, was among the critics who did not vote on Friday.
Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, a women's rights advocate, in a statement shared by her family with Reuters, called the election a "sham".
The Hamshahri and Kayhan newspapers both reported that turnout was estimated at about 40%, in line with official surveys ahead of the poll estimating about 41% of eligible Iranians would vote.
The Hamshahri called the turnout "a 25-million slap” to calls for an election boycott, in a front-page headline next to a depiction of a ballot paper smacking U.S. President Joe Biden in the face.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Iran's "enemies" - a term he normally uses for the United States and Israel - of trying to create despair among Iranian voters.
"The Silent Majority" was the front page headline in Ham Mihan, a pro-reform newspaper, which also put the turnout at about 40%.
The interior ministry may announce the official turnout later on Saturday. If the turnout figure is officially confirmed, it would be the lowest turnout since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979.
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Iran's turnout fell to 42.5% in 2020 parliamentary elections from about 62% in 2016.
The election follows anti-government protests in 2022-23 that spiralled into some of Iran's worst political turmoil since the revolution and coincided with growing frustration over the country's economic woes.
Over 15,000 candidates ran for the 290-seat parliament on Friday.
The parliamentary election was twinned with a vote for the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an influential body that has the task of choosing 84-year-old Khamenei's successor.
Hardline President Ebrahim Raisi was re-elected to the Assembly of Experts with 82.5% of the vote, the interior ministry announced on Saturday.
Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who was elected president in landslide wins in 2013 and 2017 promising to reduce Iran's diplomatic isolation, was banned from running, drawing criticism from moderates.
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March 02, 2024 at 06:23PM
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Iran election turnout hits historic low of around 40%: Report - Hindustan Times
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