‘The word election is completely meaningless’ How important are current elections for Iran’s regime?

Polling stations opened in Iran on Friday in the first parliamentary elections since mass protests swept the Islamic Republic in 2022, triggered by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini while in custody. “Voting for the 12th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the 6th term of the Assembly of Leadership Experts began following an order by the interior ministry,” state TV reported, using the official name of the Iranian parliament. State television said that polling began at 8 a.m. (0430 GMT), and it is scheduled to last for 10 hours but can be extended. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among the first to cast a ballot in a vote that will decide which of the around 15,000 candidates will gain seats in the 290-member parliament. Voter turnout was expected to be low, with data from the state-owned polling center ISPA predicting a turnout of 23.5% in the capital, Tehran, and 38.5% nationally based on a survey of 5,121 voting-age people. The election is unlikely to cause any major upsets with the conservative hardliners holding a tight grip on the electoral process. Ballots will mostly undergo a manual count and final results might not come for three days, although partial results could appear on Saturday.