Iran elections: conservative hardliners take early lead

Authorities have not released full results or the turnout figure

An Iranian couple poses to show their ink-marked fingers after casting their ballots at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran, Iran. EPA

Jewish Iranian women register at a polling station in the capital Tehran. AFP

Iranian citizens vote at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran. EPA

A woman casts her vote during parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran. REUTERS

A woman wears a face mask as she casts her vote during parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran. REUTERS

A poll worker opens a ballot box after the parliamentary election voting time ended in Tehran. REUTERS

Poll workers empty full ballot boxes after the parliamentary election voting time ended in Tehran. REUTERS

An Iranian woman casts her ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran. EPA

An Iranian woman flashes the victory sign after casting her ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran. EPA

Iranian citizens fill out their ballot papers at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran. EPA

Iranian citizens cast their ballots at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran. EPA

An Iranian man registers to vote at a mobile polling station in the capital Tehran. AFP

Iranians cast their ballot at a mobile polling station in the capital Tehran. AFP

A Jewish Iranian woman shows her ink-stained finger at a polling station in the capital Tehran. AFP

Voters queue up before voting at a polling station during the general election in Tehran. Bloomberg

Iranian state TV on Saturday announced the first partial results from the country’s parliamentary elections, indicating a strong showing by hardliners in the capital Tehran, although authorities have not released full results or the all-important turnout figure.

Voters had limited options on Friday’s ballot, as more than 7,000 potential candidates had been disqualified, most of them reformists and moderates. Among those disqualified were 90 sitting members of Iran’s 290-seat parliament who had wanted to run for re-election.

Although the final tally was still not released, a lower-than-usual turnout would signal widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the economy and the ways in which the government has handled a range of crises.

State TV, without providing the number of votes, announced the names of the leading candidates in Tehran’s 30 parliamentary seats. All were hardliners led by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who is expected to be the next parliament speaker.

Looming over the election was the threat of the new coronavirus. Many voters headed to the polls with face masks on, and some pharmacies ran out of masks and hand sanitiser amid the election-day rush.

So far, there have been five coronavirus deaths from among the 28 confirmed cases in Iran, including two deaths on election day. Another fatality was reported on Saturday, although the exact time was not specified.

By comparison, the 2016 parliamentary election saw 62 per cent turnout. On Friday, election officials kept the polls open an extra five hours in an effort to boost turnout. Iran’s leadership and state media had urged people to show up and vote, with some framing it as a religious duty.

A parliament stacked with hardliners could tilt public policy debates away from engagement with the United States. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been high since 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers, and imposed sanctions that have forced Iran’s economy into recession. Iranians have seen the price of basic goods skyrocket, inflation and unemployment rise and the local currency plummet.

The economic woes faced by ordinary Iranians fuelled anti-government protests in November. International human rights groups say at least 300 people were killed in those protests.

A more hard-line parliament could also favour expanding the budget of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Guard’s elite Quds Force, responsible for the Iran’s campaigns abroad, was formerly led by its top general Qassem Suleimani. He was killed by a US air strike in January.

That strike led to a tense confrontation in which Iranian forces accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Most of those killed were Iranian.

The shoot-down, and attempts by officials to initially conceal the cause of the crash, sparked public anger and protests in Iran.

A more hard-line parliament could lead to increased social and cultural restrictions as well. Pressure from conservatives in recent years has led authorities to ban concerts and block Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.