Iran chooses its future

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke about a high turnout of voters at the elections to the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts after casting his ballot. He has described today's elections as a symbol of the country's independence and sovereignty, during which "people are voting for the future of their country."

Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who cast one of the first votes, called on "all Iranians to participate in the elections to ensure the highest turnout."

A senior research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sazhin, in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza said that Iran has changed dramatically since the last parliamentary elections four years ago. "Back in 2012, it was a country under severe financial and economic sanctions, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a radical man with anti-Western and anti-Israeli views, was the President, and the question of a military solution to the Iranian nuclear program was on the agenda. The situation was quite complicated, and therefore the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in 2013 gave the green light to the election of Hassan Rouhani, a man with a western education and excellent knowledge of the nuclear issue. Creation of the moderate government by Hassan Rouhani and his work with the "six negotiators" paved the way for the lifting of sanctions. By that time, Iran had already started to turn into a world center of business, so businessmen and investors from around the world rushed there," the expert recalled.

According to him, these events could provide a significant number of seats in the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts to moderate political forces. "President Rouhani has done in 2.5 years more than previous governments were able to do in 10 years. However, it is not that simple, because the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has all the control in his hands, so we should not wait for an unconditional victory of the reformers," Vladimir Sazhin warned.

"The victory of the reformers doesn't satisfy the supreme leader, because it provokes an imbalance – and that is very important for him, because then it's easier for Ali Khamenei to manage the political processes in Iran. Therefore, an administrative resource was included in the campaign: The Supervisory Board, which allows candidates to participate in the elections, rejected 60% of all applicants (90% of whom were reformers), however, after disturbances, about 25% were allowed," the orientalist explained.

Another important point is that the Assembly of Experts chooses the new supreme leader. "The current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 76 years old, and it is likely that in next 8 years he will have to choose a new leader. It is a very responsible and life-changing decision for Iran, so the struggle over the Assembly of Experts is very tough," he noted.

"As for the Parliament, then, of course, if the legislature will support the government of Hassan Rouhani, it will be very easy for him to carry out his plans for modernization and the withdrawal of Iran from severe economic situation and isolation. In addition, the victory of Rouhani's supporters in the parliamentary elections will provide him with a big chance to be re-elected for a second term in the presidential elections in 2017. If the turnout will be more than 70%, then the reformers have a great chance of winning. However, before the election of the new president there will be no fundamental changes in the political life of Iran. It also won't affect its relations with Russia, they will remain at a good level in any case," Vladimir Sazhin concluded.

55 million Iranians are voting today for members of the 10th convocation of the Majlis (290 deputies) and the 5th convocation of the Assembly of Experts (88 clerics). 53 thousand polling stations opened for them. The event will be covered by about 500 journalists, including almost 150 foreign journalists. 250 thousand police officers will provide security during elections.