Hardliners in early Iran poll lead
TEHRAN, Feb 22, (AP): Iranian state TV on Saturday announced the first partial results from the country’s parliamentary elections, indicating a strong showing by hardliners in the capital Tehran, although authorities have not released full results or the all-important turnout figure.
Voters had limited options on Friday’s ballot, as more than 7,000 potential candidates had been disqualified, most of them reformists and moderates. Among those disqualified were 90 sitting members of Iran’s 290-seat Parliament who had wanted to run for re-election.
Although the final tally was still not released, a lower-than-usual turnout would signal widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the economy and the ways in which the government has handled a range of crises.
State TV, without providing the number of votes, announced the names of the leading candidates in Tehran’s 30 parliamentary seats. All were hardliners led by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who is expected to be the next Parliament Speaker.
Looming over the election was the threat of the new coronavirus. Many voters headed to the polls with face masks on, and some pharmacies ran out of masks and hand sanitizer amid the election-day rush.
So far, there have been five coronavirus deaths from among the 28 confirmed cases in Iran, including two deaths on election day. Another fatality was reported on Saturday, although the exact time was not specified.
By comparison, the 2016 parliamentary election saw 62 percent turnout. On Friday, election officials kept the polls open an extra five hours in an effort to boost turnout. Iran’s leadership and state media had urged people to show up and vote, with some framing it as a religious duty.
A Parliament stacked with hardliners could tilt public policy debates away from engagement with the United States. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been high since 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers, and imposed sanctions that have forced Iran’s economy into recession. Iranians have seen the price of basic goods skyrocket, inflation and unemployment rise and the local currency plummet.
The economic woes faced by ordinary Iranians fueled anti-government protests in November. International human rights groups say at least 300 people were killed in those protests.