According to state TV, which cited the interior ministry, polling places for elections to choose parliamentarians and a significant ecclesiastical body in Iran opened on Friday.“Voting for the 12th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) and the 6th term of the Assembly of Leadership Experts began following an order by the interior ministry,” according to state television.
Since the last elections, Iran has been badly affected by international sanctions that have led to an economic crisis. It has also been rocked by widespread protests and drawn into escalating regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
More than 61 million people out of Iran’s 85-million population are eligible to vote for members of parliament as well as the clerics of the Assembly of Experts, the body in charge of selecting Iran’s supreme leader.
A low turnout is expected, however, after a state TV poll found more than half of respondents were indifferent about the elections.
