Candidates officially start electoral campaigns for Iran’s parliamentary votes

Nominees qualified by the Guardian Council to run at Iran’s upcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections have started their electoral campaigns eight days before the voting begins.

The campaigns officially started at 00:00 Thursday (20:30 GMT, Wednesday), and the candidates will have one week to win the people’s support for their candidacy.

The 11th parliamentary elections and the midterm elections for the Assembly of Experts – a body whose members designate the country’s Leader – are to be held simultaneously on February 21.

The candidates will have until Wednesday night to promote themselves, and after that, there will be a 24-hour silence until the voting begins on Friday morning.

Iran’s Guardian Council approves 2,000 more nominees for parliamentary electionsThe council says 2,000 of those previously disqualified have been approved after more evidence obtained.

The elections, held every four years, are scheduled to take place on February 21. A second round could take place in the second month of the next year on the solar calendar (April 20-May 20, 2020) if some seats remain vacant.

Last year, Iran’s Majlis (parliament) objected to a motion to increase the number of the seats, keeping the figure at 290.

A total of 57,918,000 people are eligible to cast their ballots, therefore; there would be one lawmaker at Majlis per each 190,000-strong segment of the Iranian population.