Iranians were voting for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Iran’s leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and U.S. pressure isolates the country diplomatically.
The disqualification of more than 7,000 potential candidates, most of them reformists and moderates, raised the possibility of lower-than-usual turnout. Among those disqualified were 90 sitting members of parliament who had wanted to run for reelection.
The polls were originally scheduled to close at 6 p.m., but officials extended that to 11 p.m. to give people more time to cast their vote. Friday is a day of rest in Iran, as is the case across most Muslim countries.
Initial results were expected to be announced on Saturday.
Also looming over the election is the threat of the new coronavirus, and many voters headed to the polls with face masks. Iranian health authorities on Friday confirmed two new deaths from the virus, which first emerged in China in December, bringing the total death toll in Iran to four, from among 18 confirmed cases. The first two patients who died were elderly citizens in the city of Qom. Concerns over the spread of the virus prompted authorities in Iran to close all schools and Shiite seminaries in Qom.
Iran’s leadership and state media urged voter participation, with some framing it as a religious duty. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot at a mosque near his Tehran office shortly after polls opened at 8 a.m. and urged Iranians to the polls.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-20/iran-votes-in-parliament-elections-that-favor-conservatives