Iranians flock to polls in first vote since nuclear deal


On Friday, Iranians lined up outside polling places to vote in the first national elections since Iran reached a nuclear agreement with the U.S. and other world powers last year. At stake are all 290 seats in parliament and 88 seats in the Assembly of Experts, the body of clerics that picks the supreme leader and may well pick the successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 76 and has dealt with health problems. Both bodies are currently controlled by conservatives.
Khamenei, a hardliner opposed to Western influence, urged Iranians to vote, saying "turnout in the elections should be so high to disappoint our enemies." The moderates and reformists led by President Hassan Rouhani would like to use the diplomatic thaw of the nuclear deal to attract Western investment and create jobs. Iran's system of government invests a lot of power in the supreme leader and the Guardian Council, which approves all laws and has already put its stamp on the election by rejecting most of the moderate and nearly all of the reformist candidates who registered to run.
There are more than 6,200 candidates approved to run for the 290 seats in parliament, including about 450 women, but with an average of 17 candidates running for each seat, runoff elections are likely in many races — a candidate needs 25 percent of the vote to win outright.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
June 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's golden comb-over, brain drain in America, and a new TACO presidential seal.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges