Iranian Parliamentarians Complain About Their Colleagues’ Changing Vote Pranks

In a letter to Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, MP Meysam Zohorian exposed a practice in Iran’s Parliament where some representatives alter each other's votes as a joke during sessions.

Zohorian detailed in his letter that it is not uncommon for MPs to tamper with votes after colleagues have cast them, "either as a joke or for other reasons."

"One of the recurring problems in parliamentary sessions is that after representatives have cast their votes on bills and proposals, some colleagues, either as a joke or for other reasons, change the vote of the original voter [MP] by pressing [their] voting button without their knowledge, contrary to the representative's initial intent," he wrote.

He shared an incident where his own vote was altered during a session.

"For example, one of the representatives changed my vote today after I had already cast it. This has happened to other representatives as well," he added.

The representative from Mashhad urged Ghalibaf to implement measures requiring MPs to re-register their fingerprints before confirming any changes to their votes.

The letter has gained significant attention, with both Iranian news outlets and social media users highlighting the breach of parliamentary protocol.

Headlines such as "An unbelievable incident in Parliament" and "What started as a joke in Parliament turned serious" have fueled public discussions about the integrity of the voting process.