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Iran votes for new parliament in election that could favor conservatives Iran votes for new parliament in election that could favor conservatives
(about 5 hours later)
ISTANBUL — Iranians began voting Friday in nationwide polls to choose a new parliament, in an election widely expected to favor Iran's conservatives amid multiple crises at home and abroad. ISTANBUL — Iranians voted to elect a new parliament Friday in polls expected to favor conservatives, amid a sweeping purge of moderate candidates from the ballot and as multiple crises flared at home.
State television on Friday aired footage of voters lined up outside polling stations in cities across Iran and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addressed the nation after voting in the capital, Tehran. State television aired images Friday of voters lined up at polling stations, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, casting his ballot in Tehran, urged Iranians to participate in the election — the 11th parliamentary vote since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
He called the election a “national celebration” and urged Iranians to participate to “guarantee the country’s national interests.” Iran has been buffeted in recent months by domestic unrest over a faltering economy and a brewing military confrontation with the United States. Hard-line factions allied with Khamenei are expected to win a majority in parliament, a victory that could politically cripple the more moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, as tensions simmer with the United States.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, also encouraged voters to go to the polls. After casting his vote, Rouhani said that he hoped the election would usher in a “dynamic parliament capable of addressing the people’s needs,” in a statement carried by Iranian state television. Rouhani is under fire from hard-line conservatives who have criticized his push for engagement with the West, including a 2015 nuclear deal Iran negotiated with world powers, including the United States. It was once the president's signature foreign policy achievement, but President Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed harsh economic sanctions.
The 290-seat legislature drafts laws and approves the national budget. And while ultimate power lies with Khamenei, the parliament can help or hamper the president’s agenda. Rouhani is under fire from hard line conservatives who have criticized his push for engagement with the West, including the 2015 nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers, once the president’s signature foreign policy achievement. "Anyone who cares about the national interest should participate in elections," Khamenei said Friday, adding that people should "vote as early as possible" before polls close.
Hard line factions opposed to Rouhani were expected to dominate the ballots, experts said, in part due to the disqualification of thousands of candidates by Iran’s influential Guardian Council, a 12-member body responsible for vetting candidates and legislation. The push for a bigger turnout, including from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful security branch, came as experts warned of voter apathy following the disqualification of thousands of candidates by the influential Guardian Council, which is appointed by Khamenei.
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on five members of the council for its moves to block candidates. The elections were also marred by fears stemming from a sudden rise in the number of new coronavirus cases in Iran, including in Tehran and the holy city of Qom. Four people died this week after contracting the disease, known as covid-19, and a total of 18 people were confirmed infected. Health officials said they could not confirm the source of the outbreak.
“The Trump Administration will not tolerate the manipulation of elections to favor the regime’s malign agenda, and this action exposes those senior regime officials responsible for preventing the Iranian people from freely choosing their leaders,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement. An extended family reached Friday by telephone in Tehran said they had stayed away from the polls to avoid getting sick. Others said they were fed up with the political system and ruling elite.
Ahead of Friday’s vote, it purged a number of reformist politicians — including incumbent lawmakers — from the candidate lists, drawing criticism from Iran’s more moderate factions, including Rouhani himself. “I do not want to vote. For years, we haven’t been able to make the slightest difference in this country,” said 38-year-old Mahshid, a resident of the Tehran suburb, Karaj. She declined to give her full name out of fear of reprisal by security forces.
“Rouhani has sharply criticized the council’s vetting, warning that elections could turn into a formality,” Henry Rome, Iran analyst at the political risk firm, Eurasia Group, said in a briefing note. “But Rouhani is fighting a losing battle.” Ahead of the polls, the Guardian Council barred many moderate and pro-reform politicians, including incumbent lawmakers, from running. The accusations included vague charges of “financial and moral corruption,” and an umbrella group of reformist leaders said it would not field candidates in Tehran to protest the disqualifications.
Iran’s current parliament was elected in 2016, when Iranians believed they were emerging from years of economic sanctions and political isolation, and is dominated by bloc of reformist and centrist lawmakers. They favor a more open Iran with relaxed political and social rules. The chamber has done little, however, to address the demands of Iranians frustrated by rising costs, unemployment and an increasingly repressive security apparatus. The council said some 7,000 candidates were competing Friday for 290 seats.
In November, security forces killed hundreds of demonstrators in a brutal crackdown on protests over a fuel price hike aimed at curbing government spending. Last month, demonstrations also flared after Iran’s armed forces admitted to shooting down a Ukrainian airliner they mistook for a hostile aircraft, killing all 176 people on board. On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on five members of the council — including its secretary, Ahmad Jannati — for its moves to block candidates from the ballot.
In Karaj, a restive suburb of Tehran, 38-year-old Mahshid said that she did not see a difference between Iran’s pro-reform and hard line factions. “This action exposes those senior regime officials responsible for preventing the Iranian people from freely choosing their leaders,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
“I do not want to vote. For years, we haven’t been able to make the slightest difference in this country,” she said. Mahshid declined to give her full name out of fear of reprisal by security forces. Iran’s previous parliament was elected in 2016, when the United States was lifting sanctions as part of the nuclear deal and many Iranians believed that they were emerging from international isolation.
Also in Tehran, Shideh, 32, expressed similar feelings of apathy ahead of the vote — and said she was unsure if she would cast a ballot. She blamed the Guardian Council for approving or banning candidates based on ideology rather than qualification. It was dominated by a bloc of reformists, moderates and other centrist candidates generally aligned with Rouhani and his government. The body drafts legislation and approves the national budget. And while ultimate power lies with Iran’s ruling clerics, the parliament can help or hamper the president’s agenda. The chamber has done little, however, to address the demands of Iranians frustrated by rising costs, high unemployment and an increasingly repressive security apparatus.
“As long as they are vetting candidates, she said, “there will be no true election and very little chance of making a change.” In recent years, the United States under Trump has reimposed a near-total trade embargo, and anti-government protests have been met with state violence. Iran was nearly brought to the brink of war with the United States last month when a U.S. drone strike killed its most prominent commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, at the Baghdad airport.
Iran retaliated by firing dozens of ballistic missiles at military bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. As it braced for a response, the Revolutionary Guard then shot down a Ukrainian civilian airliner it mistook for a hostile aircraft, killing all 176 people on board.
Together, the crises have eroded public confidence in the government.
"Many Iranians, disillusioned with political repression and economic recession, will stay home on election day," said Henry Rome, an Iran analyst at the political risk firm, Eurasia Group. "Low turnout is a strong indicator of a conservative victory, as middle-class moderate voters are the ones who tend to stay home."
For 32-year-old Shideh, a marketing researcher and undecided voter in Tehran, the restrictions on candidates suggested that there would be "no true election and very little chance of making change."
She declined to give her full name so she could speak freely about her political views.
Haleh, an engineer and resident of Tehran, said she was boycotting the vote.
"This regime has taken every right away from us," she said, adding that her decision to vote or not was the last bit of political power she had.
"And I can do whatever I want with it, so I am boycotting the elections," she said.
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