Iranian Issues
The Global Citizen
Like the US, Iran has recently been in the midst of a political change with recent parliamentary elections. Parliament is similar to the US Congress–the legislative branch of government that helps make the laws for the country. While the democratic process has been working as it should, Iranian officials were a little worried with the turnout of this year’s voting.
"The turnout across the country was 42.57 percent," Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told a televised news conference on Sunday. "In [the capital] Tehran, it was around 25 percent. Across Iran, over 24 million people voted." In years past, the turnout was higher for the overall population. In 2016, the turnout was 62 percent of the registered population voting. Four years prior to that in 2012, it was 66 percent. While voter participation fluctuates normally, the issue is that this is the first time that it has fallen below the 50 percent mark. Many of the people who were monitoring the votes say that this low turnout was to be expected.
Some say it was because of the controversy surrounding this new election. The Guardian Council is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in Iran. They basically have the final word for many things related to Iranian life whether it is Islamic or constitutional. Currently, the Council is in charge of vetting candidates for this election and this time thousands were disqualified. Perhaps the most controversial fact was that 81 of the current sitting Members of Parliament were also disqualified.
Another issue leading to the low voter participation would also be due to the recent spread of coronavirus in Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Friday said voting was "a religious duty", blamed the low turnout on the "negative propaganda" about the new coronavirus. Currently, Iran has a death toll of eight people due to the coronavirus, the highest count outside of China. The Iranian media has been reporting on the virus and people have been worried with the newest case of the virus being reported only two days before the polls were open.
While the voter participation has hit an all time low since the 1979 Revolution, most officials aren’t too worried. Fazli said the election took place under less-than-ideal circumstances, but nevertheless, "we believe that the number of votes and the turnout is absolutely acceptable.
Wesley Rodriguez-Diep is a senior studying international relations.