2024 Iranian legislative election

Last updated

2024 Iranian legislative election
Flag of Iran.svg
  2020 1 March and 10 May 20242028 

All 290 seats to the Islamic Consultative Assembly
146 seats are needed for a majority
Turnout40.64% (1.93 pp Red Arrow Down.svg)
 Majority partyMinority party
  Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel - 2023.jpg Hmyd rsyy.jpg
Leader Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel Hamid Rasaee
Party Coalition Council People's Alliance of Islamic Revolution Forces
Alliance Principlists Principlists
Seats won10779

 Third partyFourth party
  Ali Motahari at Sharif University.jpg Mostafa Pourmohammadi press conference 2014-10-18 01.jpg
Leader Ali Motahari Mostafa Pourmohammadi
Party Voice of the Nation Unity Council of Islamic Revolution Forces  [ fa ]
Alliance Reformists Principlists [1]
Seats won4513

Speaker of the Consultative Assembly before election

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Coalition Council

Elected Speaker of the Consultative Assembly

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Coalition Council

Legislative elections were held in Iran on 1 March 2024 for the first round, and on 10 May 2024 for the second round.

Contents

They were held four years after the previous election in 2020. [2] The election had a preregistration for the first time as a result of a 2023 law. [3] Elections to the Assembly of Experts took place concurrently with the legislative elections.

The elections had most moderate and reformist figures disqualified from polls. Additionally, there was a historic low voter turnout of 41%, with 5% of the ballots cast being deemed "invalid". [4]

Electoral system

The 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly consists of 285 directly elected members and five seats reserved for the Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians and Armenians (one for Armenians in the north of Iran and one for Armenians in the south). [5] The 285 directly elected seats were elected from 196 single and multi-member constituencies. In single-member constituencies, candidates had to receive at least 20% of the vote in the first round to be elected; in cases where no candidate passed the threshold, a second round is held between the top two candidates. In multi-member constituencies, voters cast as many votes as there are seats available; if not all seats are filled by candidates with at least 20% of the vote, a second round is held with twice the number of candidates as there are seats to be filled (or all the original candidates if there are fewer than double the number of seats). [5]

Qualifications

As with the previous election, in order to qualify to stand as a candidate in the election, in accordance with Iranian laws, a candidate must: [5]

A candidate will be disqualified if he/she is found to be mentally impaired, actively supporting the Shah or supporting political parties and organizations deemed illegal or been charged with anti-government activity, converted to another faith or has otherwise renounced the Islamic faith, have been found guilty of corruption, treason, fraud, bribery, is an addict or trafficker or have been found guilty of violating Sharia law. [5] Also, candidates must be literate; candidates cannot have played a role in the pre-1979 government, be large landowners, drug addicts or have convictions relating to actions against the state or apostasy. Government ministers, members of the Guardian Council and High Judicial Council are banned from running for office, as is the Head of the Administrative Court of Justice, the Head of General Inspection, some civil servants and religious leaders and any member of the armed forces. [5]

Campaign

Preregistration was held for seven days.[ when? ] A record-breaking 48,847 people registered as candidates in the election, who were then vetted by the Guardian Council to run for election. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Of these candidates, 75% were below the age of 50. [11] About 15,200 received final approval to run for office, with reformists believed to constitute between 20 and 30 percent of them. [12] The candidates also included 1,713 women, which was more than double the number who competed in the last election, at 819. [13]

Candidates in the first round and in the second round had only one week to publicly campaign, from 22 February until 29 February and from 2 May 2024 to 9 May 2024 respectively. [14]

Turnout

an Iranian couple after voting Iranian couple.jpg
an Iranian couple after voting

A former minister of intelligence predicted that turnout may be low as the population may distance themselves from the election due to recent protests. [15] A survey released by the state-owned polling center ISPA on 29 February expected a turnout of 38.5 percent nationwide and 23.5 percent in Tehran. [16] Actual turnout was at 41 percent, equivalent to about 25 million voters and the lowest since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. [17] About five percent of ballots cast were also declared "invalid". [4]

Prior to the vote, the newspaper Kayhan claimed that the National Trust Party and the Executives of Construction Party had signed up for the election. In a report, the Islamic Coalition Party invited people to vote. [18] [19] Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged for a strong turnout, saying that "it is important to show the world that the nation is mobilised," and that "the enemies of Iran want to see if the people are present." Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Hossein Salami also urged people to participate, saying that "every vote is like a missile that is fired into the heart of our strongest enemies". [20] President Ebrahim Raisi urged the public to make the elections “a glorious day for the Iranian nation.” [21] In what was seen as an effort to boost turnout, members of the Iranian police were given four days of incentive leave to cast their vote. [22]

President Ebrahim Raisi praised the considerably low turnout as an 'extreme blow' to opponents of the Islamic Republic. However, Azar Mansouri, the head of the Reform Front coalition of parties that boycotted the elections, called for authorities to heed the voice of the silent majority and urged changes to the governance method. [4]

Conduct

Boycott calls

About 275 prominent activists and civil society representatives called for a boycott of the election, citing the "disgraceful" state of the electoral system and the "complete elimination of opponents." [23] Among them was imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who called the vote a "sham". [16] The Reform Front also described the vote as "meaningless, non-competitive and ineffective", while former President Mohammad Khatami said that Iran was "very far from free and competitive elections". [20] In West Azerbaijan province, 50 activists were arrested for calling for a boycott of the election on social media. [22] Former president Hassan Rouhani, who was disqualified from running in the Assembly of Experts after being a member for 24 years, urged for a "protest vote" but did not explicitly call for a boycott. [24]

Opening hours

During the first round, polls opened at 08:00 local time in 59,000 precincts across the country and were initially set to run for ten hours before being extended until midnight. Electronic voting was scheduled to be held in 1,700 polling stations across four constituencies. The Interior Ministry deployed 250,000 security personnel to ensure the conduct of the elections amid tighter scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2024 Kerman bombings. [25] [26] [27] For the second round, polling was held in 22 constituencies with 90 candidates seeking to fill 45 seats in parliament. Sixteen of the contested seats were in Tehran, with 32 candidates seeking positions there. [28]

Results

Initial results revealed that a second round was required for 45 seats in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in a total of 15 provinces, [17] including the constituency regrouping Tehran, Ray, Shemiran, Eslamshahr and Pardis, which amount to thirty seats, among which 14 were filled in the first round. [4] [29] The second round was held on 10 May. [30]

Iran Majlis 2024.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces 107
People's Alliance of Islamic Revolution79
Voice of the Nation 45
Unity Council13
Independents41
Seats reserved for religious minorities5
Total290
Total votes24,861,542
Registered voters/turnout61,172,29840.64
Source: Isna, Guardian

See also

Related Research Articles

Ferdowsi University of Mashhad is a public university in Mashhad, the capital city of the Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan. FUM is named after Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi, who is considered to be the national epic poet of Greater Iran. Having been established in 1949, FUM is the third-oldest modern university in Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Consultative Assembly</span> Legislative body of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Consultative Assembly, also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an increase from the previous 272 seats since the 18 February 2000 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khodadad Azizi</span> Afghan_Iranian footballer and coach

Khodadad Azizi is an Iranian football coach and former player who played as a striker.

Iran is known for having one of the world's most restrictive internet censorship systems. The Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have blocked access to 70 percent of the internet, many popular websites and online services, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram. Internet traffic in the country is heavily restricted and monitored. Internet Filtering Committee (Iran) headed by Prosecutor-General of Iran decides which websites must be censored and implements this vast censorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entertainment Software Rating Association</span> Age and content rating system in Iran

The Entertainment Software Rating Association is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings in Iran. The system was established in 2007 by the Iran National Foundation of Computer Games and has the status of a research project.

The legal age for marriage in Iran is 9-13 for girls and 15 for boys, unless there is court order for children 9 or younger with parents or guardian approve. However, in practice, many marriages involve adults with minors. Polygamy is allowed for men, with certain conditions - eg. legal registration - women, on the other hand, can only marry one man at a time. Divorce is legal and can be initiated by either party. The divorce rate in Iran is relatively high with rates being as many as one divorce in three marriages by 2023. Marriage is encouraged in Iran, and there are social pressures to marry. The government provides financial incentives for marriage and childbirth such as loans, land and matchmaking services as well as taxes on unmarried invidiuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iranian identity card</span> National identity card of Iran

The Iranian identity card is the primary identity document in Iran. Every citizen age of 15 and above, whether resident or not, needs to apply for such a card, which bears their unique national identity number, given name, surname, birth date, and postal code. The current version of this card is called the national smart card and is the successor of the national card. This card is intended to reduce the need for the more valuable Iranian identity booklet, which is issued at birth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gholam Hosein Shiri Aliabad</span> Iranian politician (1961–2021)

Gholam Hosein Shiri Aliabad was an Iranian politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hossein Nuri</span> Iranian artist and filmmaker

Hossein Nuri is an Iranian painter, playwright and film director. One of Nuri's pre-eminent characteristics is that despite his physical limitations he has gained professional acclaim in three fields of painting, theater, and cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic City Council of Tabriz</span> Islamic City Council of Tabriz elections and the budgets of the municipality of Tabriz

The Islamic City Council of Tabriz is the elected council that presides over the city of Tabriz, elects the Mayor of Tabriz, and budgets of the Municipality of Tabriz. The council is composed of twenty-one members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council are chosen by the council at the first regular meeting in odd-numbered years. In the last election between Principlists and reformers, Principlists won the most seats.

This is an overview of the 2004 Iranian legislative election in Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr electoral district. Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran was able to win 29 out of 30 seats in the constituency in the first round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Iranian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Iran on 18 June 2021, the thirteenth since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Ebrahim Raisi, the then Chief Justice of Iran, was declared the winner in a highly controversial election. The election began with the mass disqualification of popular candidates by the Guardian Council, and broke records of the lowest turnout in Iranian electoral history, as well as had the highest share of protest blank, invalid and lost votes despite a declaration by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, considering protest voting religiously forbidden (haraam) as it would "weaken the regime." Reporters Without Borders reported 42 cases of journalists being summoned or threatened for writing about candidates, and the chief of the police threatened people who discouraged others to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Supreme Leader of Iran election</span> Upcoming election for third Supreme Leader

An election for the third Supreme Leader of Iran is scheduled to be held following the end of the current tenure of Ali Khamenei. As of October 2024, no person has been officially declared as the heir to the current leader nor as a nominee, though various sources such as Reuters and the BBC have written on potential candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Organization for Civil Registration of Iran</span> Civil Registration of Iran

National Organization for Civil Registration of Iran is one of the governmental organizations in Iran that is responsible for collecting information and population statistics of Iran. This organization with independent duties and functions is one of the subordinate institutions of the Ministry of Interior of Iran. The organization is responsible for providing basic registration information such as births, deaths and marriages, as well as issuing identity documents such as birth certificates and Identity certificate. The current head of the organization is Hashem Kargar. In Iran, the third day of Dey (month) has been named as National Organization for Civil Registration Day.

Cultural engineering document is the 2013 protocols set for reshaping future of Iranian culture by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution of the Iranian government. Three main levels of culture in this document are Iranian-Islamic culture, peoples culture and professional culture. This document is based on Iran 2025 document(national engineering document), and is divided into national and provincial programs. Its subjects include citizens, agencies, Persian language societies, Islamic world, regional countries, nations with strong ties to Islamic republic government, enemies of the Islamic republic government, international organizations and global community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali-Akbar Raefipour</span> Iranian social media personality

Ali-Akbar Raefipour is an Iranian political and social theorist and social media personality. He is the founder and the head of Masaf Institute, a well-known Iranian think tank with a fan base of youth supporters..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Welfare Organization of Iran</span>

The State Welfare Organization of Iran, also known as the Behzisti Organization, is a working organization under the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare. Established after the 1979 revolution, the organization mainly works towards the betterment, rehabilitation, and improvement of the lives of disabled people, people in need of care, and orphaned children. It supervises and runs special needs education, addiction treatments and offers suicide awareness events.

The women's 57 kg competition in Taekwondo at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held on 8 August 2024 at the Grand Palais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Khezrian</span> Iranian politician

Ali Khazarian is an Iranian politician who is a representative of the 11th and 12th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly from the Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat, Eslamshahr and Pardis constituency.

References

  1. Key facts about Iran's elections on Friday
  2. "Report: Iran's former speaker, Larijiani, to run for parliamentary vote slated for March 2024", Iran Front Page, 8 May 2023, retrieved 11 May 2023
  3. "روحانی: طرفداران حکومت اقلیت بر اکثریت آینده انقلاب را تهدید می‌کنند / فریب‌های آماری، بسیار شایع شده / محروم کردن دانشگاه از اساتید برجسته، ظلم است - خبرآنلاین".
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Iran elections: Record low turnout in polls as hardliners win". BBC . 4 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Electoral system IPU
  6. "امروز آخرین فرصت پیش ثبت‌نام داوطلبان انتخابات مجلس است - خبرگزاری مهر | اخبار ایران و جهان &#124". www.mehrnews.com.
  7. "کیهان:یکی از دلایل ثبت نام گسترده اصلاح طلبان این است که با ردصلاحیت توسط شورای نگهبان، بهانه برای حمله به این شورا پیدا کنند - خبرآنلاین". www.khabaronline.ir.
  8. "پرونده ثبت نام اولیه مجلس با ۴۸ هزار و ۸۴۷ متقاضی بسته شد". dolat.ir (in Persian). 13 August 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  9. "ببینید | چند نفر در مرحله پیش ثبت نام انتخابات مجلس دوازدهم ثبت‌نام کردند". اعتمادآنلاین. 14 August 2023.
  10. "رکورد ثبت‌نام ادوار مجلس شکست".
  11. "تحلیل آماری ثبت‌نام کنندگان انتخابات مجلس تاکنون - ایسنا". www.isna.ir.
  12. "Campaigning begins for Iran's legislative election". France 24. 22 February 2024.
  13. "Iran begins first election campaign since the 2022 mass protests over Mahsa Amini's death in custody". Associated Press. 22 February 2024.
  14. "مهلت تبلیغات انتخابات مجلس به اتمام رسید". 29 February 2024.
  15. "Former Minister Warns Of 'Low Satisfaction' Among Iranians". Iran International. 14 August 2023.
  16. 1 2 "Iran begins voting in first parliament election since 2022 protests as questions over turnout loom". Associated Press. 1 March 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Low turnout as conservatives dominate Iran parliamentery vote". Al Jazeera. 4 March 2024.
  18. "تحریم انتخابات از سوی اصلاح طلبان صورت نمی‌گیرد". مشرق نیوز. 7 August 2023.
  19. "گزارش کیهان تأیید شد هجوم مدعیان اصلاحات برای ثبت‌نام در انتخابات". Kayhan. 22 May 1402.
  20. 1 2 "Iran heads to the polls, hardliners poised to tighten grip on power". France 24. 1 March 2024.
  21. "Iranian parliament vote, first since 2022 mass protests, sees a low turnout despite government push". Associated Press. 2 March 2024.
  22. 1 2 "Iran Regime Intensifies Election Engineering Operations". Iran International. 1 March 2024.
  23. "Iran's 'mock election' brings no hope of change". DW. 28 February 2024.
  24. "US Brushes Aside Iran Election Legitimacy". Barron's. 29 February 2024.
  25. "Iranian parliament vote, first since 2022 mass protests, sees a low turnout despite government push". Associated Press. 2 March 2024.
  26. "What to expect as Iran votes to elect parliament, religious leaders". Al Jazeera. 1 March 2024.
  27. https://www.etemadonline.com/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-9/653180-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86
  28. "Iranians vote in parliamentary runoff election after hard-liners dominate initial balloting". Associated Press. 10 May 2024.
  29. انتخابات مجلس در ۱۵ استان به دور دوم می‌رود
  30. https://english.news.cn/20240319/600b8ce9ad7d4d638e22dd403cc95351/c.html