Less than half of eligible electorate turns out to vote in Iran

The counting of ballots in Iran’s parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections got underway in the early hours of Saturday as around 25 million eligible voters are estimated to have attended the March 1 polls.

Polling stations across Iran closed at 10 pm local time on Friday after fourteen hours, Tasnim reports.

The Interior Ministry had extended the voting two times.

Around 61 million Iranian people were eligible to vote, including 3.5 million first-time voters.

The elections were held in around 60,000 polling stations across Iran.

Unofficial media reports suggest that some 25 million people have voted in the election, which translates into a turnout of about 40 per cent.

The ballot count has begun upon the formal closure of the polls.

The outright winners of the parliamentary and the Assembly of Experts seats in a number of counties and cities have been determined by Saturday morning.

There are currently 290 seats in the Iranian Parliament, known as Majlis, elected by direct vote of people in nationwide elections for four years.

The Assembly of Experts is a high-ranking body that elects and oversees the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Members of the assembly are directly elected to office by people for an eight-year term. It holds biannual meetings to appoint a new chairman.