Reports say Iran’s election turnout was about 40%

Turnout in Iran’s parliamentary election, seen as a test of the legitimacy of religious institutions, appears to have fallen to a historic low of around 40%, according to unofficial reports in Iranian media on Saturday.

Heavyweight moderates and conservatives stayed away from Friday’s election, with reformists calling it unfree and unfair because it was mainly a contest between hardliners and low-key conservatives loyal to the ideals of the Islamic revolution.

Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s first reformist president, was among the critics who did not vote on Friday.

Jailed women’s rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nargis Mohammadi called the election a “scam” in a statement shared with Reuters by her family.

this hamshari and Kaihan Newspaper reports said turnout was estimated at about 40 percent, which was consistent with official surveys before the vote that estimated about 41 percent of eligible Iranians would vote.

hamshari The front-page headline was a description of a ballot slapping US President Joe Biden in the face, calling the turnout a “slap in the face” of the 25 million people who called for a boycott of the election.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused Iran’s “enemies” – a term he usually uses to describe the United States and Israel – of trying to sow despair among Iranian voters.

“Silent Majority” makes headlines Ham MeehanA pro-reform newspaper also put the turnout at around 40%.

The Interior Ministry is likely to announce official turnout later on Saturday. If the turnout is officially confirmed, it would be the lowest since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Voter turnout in Iran’s 2020 parliamentary elections fell to 42.5% from approximately 62% in 2016.

The election comes on the heels of anti-government protests in 2022 and 2023 that turned into Iran’s worst political unrest since the revolution, as well as growing frustration with the country’s economic woes.

More than 15,000 candidates were running for the 290-seat parliament on Friday.

The parliamentary election coincides with a vote in the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an influential body tasked with choosing a successor to 84-year-old Khamenei.

The Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that hardline President Ibrahim Raisi was re-elected to the Assembly of Experts with 82.5% of the vote.

Pragmatist Hassan Rouhani was elected president in landslides in 2013 and 2017 on a promise to reduce Iran’s diplomatic isolation, but he was barred from running, drawing criticism from moderates.