2024-03-01 06:39:26
Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei opened the elections in Iran under the strictest security precautions. The head of state cast his votes for the parliamentary election and the expert council in the center of the capital Tehran on Friday. “The eyes of the people and politicians of the world are on Iran,” Khamenei said following the vote. “Both friends and enemies,” he added.
Polling stations are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CET) with the possibility of extension. The first results are expected this weekend.
Around 61 million people are called on Friday to elect a new parliament and the Council of Experts, an influential body of Islamic clerics. Numerous critical candidates were excluded before the elections by the so-called Guardian Council.
The population is disillusioned by failed reform attempts in recent decades. Many people don’t want to vote.
After the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022, Iranians took to the streets for months under the motto “Woman, Life, Freedom.” It was one of the largest protest movements in the country’s history. Several hundred people were killed and thousands arrested.
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