Conservatives seen tightening grip as Iran votes for parliament

TEHRAN: Iran went to the polls on Friday for a general election that conservatives are expected to dominate amid voter apathy after an economic slump, multiple crises and the disqualification of thousands of candidates.

The 11th parliamentary election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution comes after steeply escalating tensions between Iran and the United States and the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner by Iranian air defences that sparked anti-government protests.

As he cast the first ballot in the election, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged all Iranians to take part, saying that doing so would “guarantee the country’s national interests”.

Voters formed long queues at polling stations in south Tehran, where conservatives have a solid support base, but far fewer were seen waiting to vote in upmarket northern neighbourhoods.

One official accused Iran’s enemies of overplaying an outbreak of the new coronavirus—which authorities say has killed four people in the Islamic republic this week—in a bid to harm the credibility of the election. “The counter-revolutionaries’ latest trick was to exaggerate the coronavirus news by saying that finger ink had been infected,” Tehran election committee chief Shokrollah Hassanbeygi said, quoted by semi-official news agency ISNA.

In a bid to allay fears over the spread of the coronavirus, the use of ink-staining to stop people voting multiple times was made optional.

After seven hours of voting, more than 11 million of the 58 million people eligible to vote had done so, the interior ministry said.

Voting for the parliament, or Majles, lasts 10 hours but could be extended. Final results are not expected before Sunday.

Apart from the parliament, voters will also choose replacements for deceased members of the Assembly of Experts, an 88-strong clerical body that appoints and monitors the supreme leader.