2024 Iranian legislative election

The 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly consists of 285 directly elected members and five seats reserved for the Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrians and Armenians (one for Armenians in the north of Iran and one for Armenians in the south). Qualifications As with the previous election, in order to qualify to stand as a candidate in the election, in accordance with Iranian laws, a candidate must: • Be an Iranian citizen; • Be a supporter of the Islamic Republic, pledging loyalty to the constitution; • Be a practicing Muslim (unless running to represent one of the religious minorities in Iran); • Not have a "notorious reputation;" • Be in good health, and between the ages of 30 and 75. A candidate will be disqualified if he/she is found to be mentally impaired, actively supporting the Shah or supporting political parties and organizations deemed illegal or been charged with anti-government activity, converted to another faith or has otherwise renounced the Islamic faith, have been found guilty of corruption, treason, fraud, bribery, is an addict or trafficker or have been found guilty of violating Sharia law. Also, candidates must be literate; candidates cannot have played a role in the pre-1979 government, be large landowners, drug addicts or have convictions relating to actions against the state or apostasy. Government ministers, members of the Guardian Council and High Judicial Council are banned from running for office, as is the Head of the Administrative Court of Justice, the Head of General Inspection, some civil servants and religious leaders and any member of the armed forces. ==Campaign==

Preregistration was held for seven days. A record-breaking 48,847 people registered as candidates in the election, who were then vetted by the Guardian Council to run for election. Of these candidates, 75% were below the age of 50. About 15,200 received final approval to run for office, with reformists believed to constitute between 20 and 30 percent of them. The candidates also included 1,713 women, which was more than double the number who competed in the last election, at 819. Candidates in the first round and in the second round had only one week to publicly campaign, from 22 February until 29 February and from 2 May 2024 to 9 May 2024 respectively. ==Turnout==

A former minister of intelligence predicted that turnout may be low as the population may distance themselves from the election due to recent protests. A survey released by the state-owned polling center ISPA on 29 February expected a turnout of 38.5 percent nationwide and 23.5 percent in Tehran. About five percent of ballots cast were also declared "invalid". Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged for a strong turnout, saying that "it is important to show the world that the nation is mobilised," and that "the enemies of Iran want to see if the people are present." Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Hossein Salami also urged people to participate, saying that "every vote is like a missile that is fired into the heart of our strongest enemies". In what was seen as an effort to boost turnout, members of the Iranian police were given four days of incentive leave to cast their vote. President Ebrahim Raisi praised the considerably low turnout as an 'extreme blow' to opponents of the Islamic Republic. However, Azar Mansouri, the head of the Reform Front coalition of parties that boycotted the elections, called for authorities to heed the voice of the silent majority and urged changes to the governance method. ==Conduct==

Boycott calls About 275 prominent activists and civil society representatives called for a boycott of the election, citing the "disgraceful" state of the electoral system and the "complete elimination of opponents." Among them was imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate and women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who called the vote a "sham". The Reform Front also described the vote as "meaningless, non-competitive and ineffective", while former President Mohammad Khatami said that Iran was "very far from free and competitive elections". In West Azerbaijan province, 50 activists were arrested for calling for a boycott of the election on social media. Opening hours During the first round, polls opened at 08:00 local time in 59,000 precincts across the country and were initially set to run for ten hours before being extended until midnight. Electronic voting was scheduled to be held in 1,700 polling stations across four constituencies. The Interior Ministry deployed 250,000 security personnel to ensure the conduct of the elections amid tighter scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2024 Kerman bombings. For the second round, polling was held in 22 constituencies with 90 candidates seeking to fill 45 seats in parliament. Sixteen of the contested seats were in Tehran, with 32 candidates seeking positions there. ==Results==

Initial results revealed that a second round was required for 45 seats in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in a total of 15 provinces, The second round was held on 10 May. == See also ==