The elections to the parliament (Majlis) and the Council of Experts finished in Iran today. According to the preliminary results, the current president of Iran Hassan Rouhani and the former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who held a leading position from 1989 to 1997, are leading in the elections to the Assembly of Experts.
The election of the Council of Experts was held in the framework of the parliamentary elections. The Expert Council includes 88 influential clerics of Iran. The term of office of the public authority is eight years. The Council of Experts, in particular, has the right to choose the supreme leader of Iran - this post in the country is considered to be more important than the presidential.
Today, the Iranian Interior Minister, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, said that a second round of elections to the parliament (Majlis) of the country will be held in some cities and towns of Iran at the end of April. "The final round for some seats in the parliament will be held at the end of Farvardin or in early Ordibehesht ( late April),’’ Trend quotes him as saying.
The Minister also noted that this is related to places where the candidates did not receive the required minimum of 25% of the vote. In total, the country's voter turnout in the elections to the Parliament and the Council of Experts, held the day before, was more than 60%, which is more than 32 million people. As a representative of the Iranian Ministry of Internal Affairs reports, more accurate figurse will be announced in the course of the day, but they will not be very different from the preliminary data. "Also, the preliminary results will be announced in Tehran on Saturday evening, but the final results may take a longer time," Fazli said.
Recall that a total of 53 thousand polling stations and points, where 129 thousand ballot boxes were installed, were opened the day before at 08:00 by local time. Iranian residents voted for the compositions of the 10th convocation of the Parliament (290 deputies) and the 5th convocation of the Council of Experts (88 clerics). About 500 journalists, including representatives of nearly 150 foreign media are involved in covering the elections. Security of the elections is provided by 250 thousand policemen.
Due to the activity of voters the voting time was extended five times. Polling stations eventually closed five hours later than planned. About 55 million Iranians are eligible to vote. In 2012 voter turnout was 64.2%.
