Khamenei Urges Iranians to Vote Amid Expected Low Turnout

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appealed to Iranian voters to participate in the March 1 parliamentary elections, amid expectations of a low turnout.

"Not casting your vote bears no benefits," Khamenei said during a meeting with first-time voters on February 28. 

"Looking at elections from a national perspective, not factional, is crucial. Everyone loses if we don’t have strong elections," he added. 

The Islamic Republic has used voter turnout as proof of its legitimacy.

But with anti-establishment sentiment among the public rising and unprecedented protests erupting against the country’s clerical establishment in recent years, the last presidential and parliamentary elections saw record-low turnouts. 

Amid fears of another poor voter participation, the spokesman of the Guardian Council, which oversees elections in Iran, has predicted "a high participation rate” in the upcoming polls.

As in previous elections, the hardline council has disqualified a large number of candidates.

And recent changes in election procedures have raised suspicions of potential manipulation by the authorities.

On March 1, voters are due to pick new members of the 290-seat legislature from among 15,200 approved candidates.

That’s more than double the number of candidates allowed to stand in the previous parliamentary elections, when voter turnout was at its lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution at just over 42 percent.