Iran’s state TV: Hardliners win all seats for Tehran in vote

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian hardliners have won all 30 Parliament seats in the capital, Tehran, state TV reports, but officials have yet to announce the voter turnout from parliamentary elections two days ago.

State TV also says that former Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a top contender for the post of parliamentary speaker, is the top winner in Tehran with more that 1.2 million votes.

Officials have still not released any figures for voter turnout, which is widely seen as a measure of how Iranians view the country’s embattled theocratic government.

A low turnout could signal widespread dissatisfaction with Iran’s clerical rulers and the system they preside over. Iranian officials usually release turnout figures a day after elections.

The official IRNA news agency says ballot counting had come to an end, with 201 out of 208 constituencies decided. The seven relatively small constituencies will be decided in a run-off election later in April.

Iran’s supreme leader earlier today accused enemy “propaganda” of trying to dissuade people from voting by amplifying the threat of the coronavirus.

A range of crises has beset Iran in the past year, including widespread anti-government protests in November and US sanctions piling pressure on the plunging economy.

— AP