Iranian conservatives won the majority of seats in elections for a crucial religious body and the national assembly on Sunday (3rd March), with local media predicting a record low turnout.
Two days following Friday’s vote for members of parliament and the Assembly of Experts, which picks the Islamic republic’s ultimate leader, authorities were still counting ballots.
The referendum was the first since demonstrations erupted in September 2022 over the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd jailed for allegedly breaching the tight women’s clothing code.
“Wake-up call” for Iran
According to Iranian media, turnout in Tehran was about 25%, with ultra-conservative candidates winning 12 of the capital’s 30 parliament seats.
According to IRNA, certain seats have been moved to a second round, which will take place in April or May. The election, in which many candidates were prevented from competing due to a screening procedure, occurred during Iran’s severe economic crisis, which was exacerbated by international sanctions.
According to a news agency, participation was about “41 percent” among 61 million eligible voters. No official figure had been announced. It has been claimed that turnout was lower in Iran’s larger cities than in its smaller ones, with a considerable proportion of “blank votes”.
Fears of a low participation grew ahead of the elections when a state TV survey revealed that more than half of respondents were unconcerned in the election.
According to the pro-government Iran Daily, officials should view the poor attendance as a “wake-up call and redouble their efforts to fortify their support base”.
According to political expert Mohammad Mohajeri, conservatives and ultraconservatives would emerge as the biggest winners of the elections due to a “sharp decline in participation rate.”
Strategy to attract more voters
A record number of 15,200 candidates competed for seats in the 290-member parliament. Another 144 individuals vied for a seat in the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which is made up entirely of male professors.
To assist attract voters, the administration aimed “to create local competition and increase participation” by authorising a big pool of candidates.
