Iran elections: Hard-liners ahead in Tehran — early count

An alliance of hard-line conservative candidates is in the lead in the Iran's capital, Tehran, early results for Friday's parliamentary elections showed on Saturday.

State radio reported that an archconservative alliance led by hard-liner Hamid Resaee had won 17 of the 30 seats in Tehran. The incumbent speaker of the parliament, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, who was running for a different conservative group, also secured a new mandate.

The parliamentary elections were held alongside a vote for the Assembly Experts. The influential body is tasked with choosing 84-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's successor.

Hardline President Ebrahim Raisi was re-elected to the Assembly of Experts with 82.5% of the vote, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

Reported low turnout

The news of the reportedly low turnout was not unexpected, following reports of voter apathy leading to Friday's parliamentary elections.

Officials have not yet released turnout figures. However, the Mehr news agency, citing unofficial results, said voter turnout in Tehran was only 24%. Nationwide, a historically low turnout of 41% of eligible voters went to the polls.

In the last parliamentary elections held in 2019, only 42% of those eligible to vote turned out to vote, in what was considered to be the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Friday's election was the first since mass protests swept the Islamic Republic in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini.

Why are Iranian voters not interested in voting?

Some 61 million people were called to the polls on Friday to vote for a new parliament and for the Council of Experts, an influential body of Islamic clerics.

According to Iranian law, the parliament performs various functions, including overseeing the executive branch and voting on agreements. The 290-seat parliament is elected by popular vote every four years.

In practice, Khamenei holds absolute power in Iran.

The Islamic Republic's political system has combined theocratic and republican elements since the 1979 revolution. The ideological suitability of politicians is determined by the Guardian Council, an arch-conservative oversight body. As a result, citizens usually can only choose from politicians who are loyal to the system.

A number of critical candidates have been barred from running ahead of the election. Enthusiasm for the elections has been low, as many potential voters are disillusioned after a series of failed reform attempts in recent decades.

dh/dj (dpa, AP, Reuters)