At the same time as parliamentary elections, Iranians are also voting for the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body empowered to choose or dismiss the country’s supreme leader.
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Iranians walk at the shrine of the Shiite Saint Imam Abdulazim in Shahr-e-Ray a day prior to the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in south of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016.
In the simultaneous vote on Friday, Iranians will also select 88 senior religious figures of the Assembly of Experts, which is tasked with appointing the Leader and monitoring his performance. The new Assembly is likely to choose Khamenei’s successor.
The daughter of former moderate president Hashemi Rafsanjani encouraged voters to vote for candidates who endorse President Hassan Rouhani, who negotiated a landmark nuclear agreement with the USA a year ago. “We’re looking for more freedom, culture, art, human rights and for better rights for our women”, he said.
“Today’s elections are the symbol of Iran’s political independence”, said the President after paying a visit to the election office and casting his votes. There are also independent conservatives not aligned with either bloc.
Supreme leader Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, was among the first to vote in the capital, Tehran.
Candidates across the board are putting an emphasis on improving the economy, which is hampered by a slump in oil prices, inflation and high unemployment.
The polls are especially important as they come just one month after sanctions were lifted under the nuclear accord and the vote’s outcome will be seen as a de-facto referendum on Rouhani’s administration.
But those seeking further reform face an uphill battle.
“It’s obvious that he understands the problem”, said Parnian Seyfe, 19, standing outside the reformist candidates’ headquarters.
This is due to the ability of the Guardian Council, a 12-member unelected body of clergy, to pre-select which candidates are allowed to stand, with nearly half of the 12,123 candidates who initially put their names forward cut from the roster before campaigning began. But officials later reversed the disqualifications of 1,500 candidates, including some reformists.
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“I hope all Iranians feel responsibility to participate and form a magnificent and healthy election today”, he added and underlined “voting will continue for 10 hours however extensions are possible”. State TV showed long lines of people waiting to cast their ballots in the twin elections as the polls opened.
