Tehran: voting process for Iran’s 12th Parliament and sixth Assembly of Experts came to a close at 12:00 a.m. on Saturday following a marathon 16-hour session, as reported by media outlets.
Commencing at 8 a.m. on Friday across 59,000 polling stations nationwide, the elections saw over 15,000 candidates contending for 290 seats in the Iranian Parliament, alongside 144 candidates vying for positions within the eight-year-term Assembly of Experts. This assembly, consisting of 88 members, holds authority over the activities of Iran’s supreme leader and possesses the power to appoint and remove the supreme leader.
A total of 61.17 million eligible voters, comprising 30.94 million men and 30.22 million women, were registered to participate in the elections, according to the Iranian Election Office affiliated with the Interior Ministry, as cited by news agencies.
Initially slated to conclude at 6 p.m. on Friday, the voting period underwent three extensions, each lasting two hours, to accommodate the high turnout.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cast his vote in Tehran immediately after polls opened, emphasizing the global attention on Iran’s electoral process. He conveyed a message to the nation, highlighting the significance of their participation and the scrutiny from international observers.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi exercised his voting rights at the Interior Ministry’s building, underscoring the pivotal role of citizens’ votes in shaping the Islamic Republic’s establishment.
Throughout the voting process, Iran’s Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan affirmed the absence of security issues at any polling stations nationwide, ensuring full security measures were in place, as reported by the official news agency IRNA.