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IRAN-VOTE
Voting underway in Iran parliamentary election
TEHRAN, Feb 21, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Iranians began voting Friday in a
parliamentary election which conservatives are expected to dominate,
capitalising on public anger against moderate conservative President Hassan
Rouhani over a ravaged economy, corruption and multiple crises.
State television showed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei casting the first ballot in Tehran.
As he voted, Khamenei called on all Iranians to take part in the election
“as soon as possible,” saying that doing so would “guarantee the country’s
national interests”.
The 11th parliamentary election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution comes
after steeply escalating tensions between Iran and the United States and the
accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner that sparked anti-government
protests.
Experts predict a low turnout with rising voter apathy that they say will
serve the conservatives at the expense of Rouhani, who was re-elected in 2017
promising more freedoms and the benefits of engagement with the West.
Iran has been hit by an economic slump and high inflation following harsh
US sanctions after President Donald Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear
deal with Tehran in 2018.
“Iran’s biggest problem is not having stability, peace and calm,” said
Amir Mohtasham, who is 38 and jobless.
“Our elections are useless. Even the current parliament has 90 sitting MPs
who are under investigation for financial corruption,” he said.
Nearly 58 million people are eligible to vote.
Around half of the 16,033 hopefuls will contest the 290 seats up for grabs
across 31 provinces after the Guardian Council barred thousands of would-be
candidates, mostly moderates and reformists.
On Thursday, Washington slapped sanctions on five Iranian officials in
charge of vetting candidates, including Ahmad Jannati, a powerful cleric.
“The Trump administration will not tolerate the manipulation of elections to
favour the regime’s malign agenda,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The Guardian Council slammed the sanctions, saying they showed the United
States’ disdain for democracy.
“America’s regime has shown through illegal sanctions… on members of the
Guardian Council that it has nothing to do with democracy,” said its
spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaee, who was among those hit with sanctions.
“We are now even more determined to safeguard the people’s vote,” he
tweeted. – ‘Voting religious duty’ –
On the eve of the elections, state media aired a short clip showing votes
transforming into torpedoes hitting enemy navy ships closing in on Iran.
Hessameddin Ashena, Rouhani’s main adviser, warned on Twitter that abstention
“increases (among other things) the possibility of a military aggression”.
Turnout in Iran’s past 10 elections averaged 60.5 percent, according to
the interior ministry.
The Guardian Council said it expected at least 50 percent of registered
voters to cast ballots.
Many voters, however, have voiced disinterest.
“We voted for Mr Rouhani with a dream, and then we didn’t achieve
anything. So, in my opinion, people are not hopeful any more,” said Mohammed,
who spoke from his carpet shop and only gave one name.
– ‘Only a formality’ –
“I honestly don’t want to vote, because it won’t fix our problems and is
of no use, and this election is only a formality just so they can show to the
world that they are chosen by the nation, while it is not so,” said Pari
Aghazadeh, a fashion designer.
In November, demonstrations over petrol price hikes spread across Iran and
turned violent before being crushed in a deadly crackdown.
Tehran and Washington have nearly gone to war twice in the past seven
months, most recently after the US assassinated prominent Iranian general
Qasem Soleimani on January 3.
The “martyrdom” of the hugely popular general provoked an outpouring of
grief in Iran.
Millions of people turned out to mourn his death, but that unity suffered
a blow after Iran finally admitted that it had shot down a Ukrainian airliner
on January 8, killing 176 people.
The government sparked further anger by denying for several days that Iran
was to blame, before owning up to a jittery reaction by a missile operator.
The disaster unfolded as Iran’s defences were on high alert in case the US
retaliated to Iranian strikes hours earlier on American troops stationed in
Iraq in response to the killing of Soleimani. Voting for the parliament, or
Majles, lasts 10 hours but can be extended. Final results are not expected
before Sunday.
Apart from the parliament, voters will also choose replacements for
deceased members of the Assembly of Experts, a 88-strong clerical body that
appoints and monitors the supreme leader.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1128 hrs