KSrelief signs Syria wildfire response deal in Latakia    Absher processed over 35 million transactions in June 2025    Seven Umrah companies suspended for housing pilgrims in unlicensed accommodations    Youth-led Saudi businesses exceed 474K    ASICS and Saudi Sports for All launch startup pitch to boost sports innovation in Saudi Arabia    GCC and Muslim World League condemn Israeli strikes on Syria    Striking trade deal with US was an 'extraordinary struggle,' Indonesia says    Scientists recover proteins from a 24 million-year-old rhino fossil    Harry Potter actress Emma Watson banned from driving for speeding    Thousands of Afghans were moved to UK in secret scheme after data breach    Trump says attorney general should release any 'credible' information on Epstein    King Fahad National Library extends weekend hours    GASTAT: Inflation remains stable at 2.3% in June    Saudi Arabia leads MENA in venture capital with $860 million in H1 2025    Biggest human imaging study scans 100,000th person    Beyoncé's unreleased music stolen from car during Cowboy Carter tour    Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Arabia as Al Nassr head coach on one-year deal    Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz to win his maiden Wimbledon title    Chelsea defeat PSG 3-0 to win first expanded Club World Cup    Theo Hernández: Al Hilal can compete with Europe's best    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Iran elections: Record low turnout in polls as hard-liners win
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 04 - 03 - 2024

Hard-liners have won a majority of the seats in the parliamentary elections in Iran, which saw a record low turnout of 41% after calls for a boycott.
Most moderate and reformist figures were disqualified from standing in Friday's polls, which were the first since the 2022 nationwide protests.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told a news conference that 25 million of the 61 million eligible voters took part.
He also revealed that about 5% of the ballots cast were "invalid", or spoilt.
Hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi earlier praised the "passionate turnout", which he described as an "extreme blow" to opponents of the Islamic Republic.
Analysts said a low turnout would be a show of disenchantment with politics, after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had urged people to vote.
Some 42% of those eligible voted in the last parliamentary elections in 2020. Turnout had been consistently above 50% before then.
Iran's election headquarters announced on Monday that 245 of the 290 seats in parliament had been decided in the first round.
The remaining 45 seats will go to second round run-offs because the winning candidates had not received the 20% of the votes required.
Only 14 candidates reached the threshold in the capital, Tehran, and its surrounding province, meaning that run-offs will be held for more than half of the 30 seats there.
Most of the winning candidates nationwide are considered to be conservative hard-liners, who are staunchly loyal to the Islamic ruling system and are opposed to political or social freedoms.
Conservatives also dominated separate elections held on Friday for the Assembly of Experts — an 88-member clerical body that is responsible for appointing the next Supreme Leader when the time comes.
Ayatollah Khamenei — the Islamic Republic's most powerful figure and commander-in-chief — is 84 and the new assembly will sit for eight years.
As with the parliamentary polls, many prospective candidates were disqualified by the Guardian Council, a hardline watchdog made up of theologians and jurists.
Among those barred was former president Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who had previously served on the assembly for 24 years.
Rouhani warned in January that such decisions would "undermine the nation's confidence in the system" but still turned out to vote on Friday.
Another former president, the reformist Mohammad Khatami, was among those who did not vote, having warned last month that Iran was "very far from free and competitive elections".
Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights activist Narges Mohammedi denounced the elections as a "sham", following what she called the "ruthless and brutal suppression" of the 2022 protests.
The unrest was triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly".
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands detained in a continuing crackdown by security forces, which have portrayed the protests as "riots". — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.