Iranians to vote in parliament, Assembly of Experts elections

Iranians are going to the polls on Friday to vote in two crucial elections after a week of campaigning by candidates who largely got down to brass tacks.

Voting for the 290-seat Parliament (Majlis) and the 88-member Assembly of Experts will be held simultaneously. Some 55 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the two elections.

As many as 4,844 candidates, including about 500 women, are competing for a place in the Parliament, head of the Interior Ministry’s election headquarters Mohammad Hossein Moqimi said on Thursday.

The week-long campaigns of the candidates officially ended at 8 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Thursday, 24 hours before the beginning of the votes.

Polls will open at 0430 GMT and are scheduled to close at 1430 GMT but voting could be extended if required.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said some of the candidates had pulled out. “It now leaves around 17 people competing for each parliamentary seat,” he said.