Iran voting for a new parliament expected to remove moderates

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 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.

Hard-line factions allied with Mr. 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.

Mr. Rouhani is under fire from hard-line conservatives who have criticized his push for engagement with the West, including a 2015 nuclear deal that Iran negotiated with world powers, including the United States. It was once the president’s signature foreign policy achievement, but President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed harsh economic sanctions.

“Anyone who cares about the national interest should participate in elections,” Mr. Khamenei said Friday, adding that people should “vote as early as possible” before polls close.

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 Mr. Khamenei.

Low voter turnout would undermine the government’s legitimacy and suggest widespread disillusionment with the Islamic Republic. Iran’s clerics hold ultimate power but allow for competitive elections for parliament and the presidency.

About 20% of Iran’s eligible voters had cast ballots by 3 p.m. Tehran time, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency. And in 30 of Iran’s 31 provinces, voting was extended until 8 p.m., state media reported.

The elections were also marred by fears stemming from a sudden rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Iran, including in Tehran and the holy city of Qom. Four people died in the past week after contracting the disease, known as COVID-19, and 18 people were confirmed infected. Health officials said they could not confirm the source of the outbreak.

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 the ruling elite.

“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 Karaj, a Tehran suburb. She declined to give her full name out of fear of reprisal by security forces.

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.

The council said about 7,000 candidates were competing Friday for 290 seats.