Parliamentary Elections Set for Feb. 2020

EghtesadOnline: With the approval of the Guardians Council, the 11th round of parliamentary elections will be held on Feb. 21, 2020, the Interior Ministry's spokesperson said.

News ID: ۷۴۶۸۱۰

02 March 2019

According to Salman Samani, the ministry had submitted the proposed date for the event to the council that approved it in its latest session.

“Administrative procedures, including training programs for executive staff, have been initiated and will be carried out according to the schedule,” Samani was quoted as saying by ISNA.

The Iranian Parliament has 290 seats occupied by representatives elected by a nationwide public vote for four years, according to Financial Tribune.

The first midterm election of the Assembly of Experts is also set to be held alongside this event.

The assembly is a high-ranking clerical body empowered to appoint and dismiss the Leader of Islamic Revolution and monitor his performance.

It has 88 members who are elected by a direct public vote for an eight-year term. Midterm elections are held to replace members who pass away or resign.

E-Voting

The upcoming elections are likely to be conducted through electronic voting systems if the Guardians Council, which oversees the process, gives its permission.

Mohammad Javad Kolivand, a lawmaker, told ICANA that the electronic system has already been used in a number of locations in the latest city and village council elections.

“For electronic presidential, Majlis and Assembly of Experts elections, the Guardians Council needs to announce its final decision, but this has not happened yet,” he said.

There is also a plan to make the parliamentary elections provincial, meaning the candidates would have to gain votes from the whole province rather than one city or region.

The purpose of the proposal, according to Asghar Salimi, another lawmaker, is for the “representatives of the people to pursue more large-scale and national issues instead of trivial and local affairs”.

Salimi, however, noted that the infrastructure for the plan has not been established yet.