Campaigning officially ended today for Iran’s parliamentary election, state media said, a day before the vote to pick 290 lawmakers.
“The campaigning ended at 8:00 a.m. (0430 GMT) and any campaigning beyond this time is a violation of election regulations,” state television quoted election organizers as saying.
The Guardian Council, which must approve candidates, has rejected about 6,850 from among 14,000 applicants seeking to contest Friday’s vote, Reuters reported.
“We anticipate 50% of people will participate in the election,” Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, told a televised news conference.
Turnout was 62% in the 2016 parliamentary vote and 66% of people voted in 2012. About 58 million Iranians are eligible to vote.
On Tuesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said voting was “a religious duty” but some prominent pro-reform politicians in Iran and activists abroad have called for a boycott of the elections.
