Hardliners take early lead in Iran
TURNOUT HIT AS CORONAVIRUS THREAT LOOMS LARGE OVER POLLS
Iranian state TV yesterday 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 allimportant 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.
Low turnout
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 sanitiser 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 per cent turnout. On Friday, election officials kept the polls open an extra five hours in an effort to boost turnout.
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.