Iranian parliamentary elections commence; reformers bemoan ‘unfree and unfair’ vote

Polling stations are open across Iran as people cast votes for a new parliament, but growing frustration over economic woes and discontent at the hardline clerical rulers’ restrictions on political and social freedoms are set to keep many people at home.

State TV reports polling stations opened to voters at 8:00 a.m. with voting scheduled to last for 10 hours, although this time can be extended.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called voting a religious duty, was the first to cast his vote.

“Vote in early hours,” Khamenei urged Iranians.

The election is the first formal measure of public opinion after anti-government protests in 2022-23 spiraled into some of the worst political turmoil since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But with heavyweight moderates and conservatives staying out of the vote and reformists calling it an “unfree and unfair election”, the contest is between hardliners and conservatives who proclaim loyalty to Islamic revolutionary ideals, potentially dashing the rulers’ hopes for a high turnout.

Official polls suggest only about 41% of Iranians will vote on Friday.

The interior ministry said 15,200 candidates will run for the 290-seat parliament, which has scant impact on Iran’s foreign policy and the nuclear row with the West, since these are determined by Khamenei.

While establishment supporters will likely vote for hardline candidates, widespread public anger at worsening living standards and pervasive graft may keep many Iranians at home.

Iranian activists and opposition groups are distributing the Twitter hashtag #VOTENoVote widely on social media, arguing that a high turnout will legitimize the Islamic Republic.

The parliamentary elections are twinned with a vote for the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an influential body that has the task of choosing the 84-year-old Khamenei’s successor.