Iran is prepared to hold two major elections this week as the country reiterates its commitment to a constitutional principle stipulating that the affairs of the country must be administered by relying on people’s votes.
Iranians will vote on Friday in two separate elections for the country’s parliament and the Assembly of Experts.
Figures by Iran’s Interior Ministry show that nearly 15,000 candidates have been approved to compete in the parliamentary elections this year, a record since the victory of the Islamic Revolution 45 years ago.
The candidates will compete for 290 seats of the parliament, five of which represent religious minorities namely Jews, Assyrians, Zoroastrians, and Armenians. They are elected for a four-year term.
Hundreds of candidates are also vying for 88 seats in Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a body with an eight-year mandate that is in charge of overseeing the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and is in a position of authority to either appoint or dismiss the Leader.
Candidates running for the elections have officially launched their election campaign across Iran, with people from different walks of life as well as current members of the parliament and the Assembly of Experts competing for seats in the two bodies that will convene in late May.
In a recent speech, Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called for massive turnout in the upcoming elections which he described as the “main pillar of the Islamic Republic.”
Article Six of the Iranian Constitution reiterates that the administration of the affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran should be based on the public opinion expressed by the means of elections.
Iran has held 40 rounds of different elections, including presidential and parliamentary ones, since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
