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Iranians vote in first parliament elections since nuke deal Iran votes in first elections since landmark nuclear deal
(about 4 hours later)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranians were voting Friday in parliamentary elections, the country’s first since its landmark nuclear deal with world powers last summer. TEHRAN, Iran — Iranians across the Islamic Republic voted Friday in the country’s first election since its landmark nuclear deal with world powers, deciding whether to further empower its moderate president or side with hard-liners long suspicious of the West.
The vote is seen as a referendum on the policies of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, credited with bringing about the deal that curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of crippling international sanctions. The election for Iran’s parliament and a cleric body known as the Assembly of Experts hinges on both the policies of President Hassan Rouhani, as well as Iranians worries about the country’s economy, long battered by international sanctions.
At the same time as parliamentary elections, Iranians are also voting for the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body empowered to choose or dismiss the country’s supreme leader. Nearly 55 million of Iran’s 80 million people are eligible to vote and there were long lines at polling places since morning hours. Voters cast ballots at some 53,000 polling stations, writing down the names of their picks on two separate ballots and dyeing their fingers with ink to show they had voted.
Some 53,000 polling stations throughout Iran are taking ballots for the 290-member parliament and the 88-member Experts Assembly. Nearly 55 million Iranians are eligible to vote. State TV showed long lines of people waiting to cast their ballots in the twin elections as the polls opened. Turnout figures and other statistics were not immediately available, though Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli predicted late Thursday there would be a turnout of 70 percent. Polls are scheduled to close at 6 p.m., though extending voting hours is common in Iran.
In the parliament vote, reformists seeking greater democratic changes and moderates supporting Rouhani are pitted against hard-liners who oppose the nuclear deal and openings with the West. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader who has final say on all state matters, was among the first to vote in the capital, Tehran.
The balloting is unlikely to change Iran’s course over major policies regardless of who wins but a win by reformists and moderates will give Rouhani the support he needs as he tries to repair the economy and move toward warmer ties with the United States. “Whoever likes Iran and its dignity, greatness and glory should participate in this election,” he said after casting his ballot. “We have enemies who are eyeing us greedily. Turnout in the elections should be such that our enemy will be disappointed and will lose its hope. People should be observant and vote with open eyes.”
The barring of a majority of reformists from the race by the Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog that vets election candidates, means they are unlikely to win a majority alone but a substantial bloc would mean a new shift in Iran’s politics. Rouhani, himself a candidate in the Assembly of Experts election, also addressed journalists after voting, saying he expected an “epic” turnout.
Among those who cast their ballot in the first hours of the voting was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader who has the final say on all state matters. He had urged Iranians to vote, saying it was both a “right” and a “responsibility” and that a high turnout would boost Iran’s image and might. “Whoever comes out of the ballot boxes, either in the parliament or the Assembly of Experts, with the votes of the people will be respected by us and everyone will respect the votes of the majority of the people,” he said.
“Whoever likes Iran and its dignity, greatness and glory should participate in this election,” he said after casting his ballot in Tehran. “We have enemies who are eyeing us greedily. Turnout in the elections should be such that our enemy will be disappointed and will lose its hope. People should be observant and vote with open eyes.” The vote is unlikely to radically change Iran, but reformists and moderates peeling away seats from hard-liners could help Rouhani push through his domestic agenda. While the majority of reformists were barred from running, they could still win a substantial bloc of parliament’s 290 seats with their allies. Lawmakers serve four-year terms.
In the capital, Tehran, many voters had their favorite list saved on their cell phones and used them to write the names on the ballots. Others carried pocket-size campaign papers with the 30-seat list for Tehran. Many had blue papers, the color of the reformist-moderate faction, while others had with them yellow papers with the hard-liner lists. Also of concern is the Assembly of Experts, an 88-seat body of clerics officially charged with selecting the replacement for the supreme leader from among its members. The assembly is elected every eight years and there is a chance its members may need to find a successor for the ayatollah, who is 76 years old and underwent prostate surgery in 2014, renewing speculation about his health.
A high turnout is likely to help reformists and moderates to return in significant numbers in order to reduce hard-liners’ ability to block Rouhani’s agenda of economic, social and political reforms. In Tehran, many voters had saved a list of their favorite candidates on their mobile phone. Others carried pocket-size campaign papers. Many of those lists were blue, the color of the reformist-moderate faction, while others had the yellow lists put out by hard-liners.
Late Thursday, Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli predicted a turnout of 70 percent. Voters said they worried about economic issues and hoped for a better future after the nuclear deal.
“There are economic problems, unemployment (and) people are a bit tired of hard-line policies,” Tahereh Meisami, a women’s right activist, told The Associated Press. “To get rid of those problems they want to vote so that, God willing, they can select lawmakers who can meet their demands.”
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.