Iran to Hold Run-Off Parliamentary Polls on May 10

The spokesperson for the Election Headquarters of Iran said on Sunday that the run-off parliamentary elections will be held in 22 consituencies across the country where the candidates had failed to receive an absolute majority (more than 50%) of votes cast during the first round held on March 1.

A total of 90 candidates will be racing for the 45 vacant seats out of 290 parliamentary seats, Mohsen Eslami said.

He noted that the upcoming run-off elections will be held with electronic voting machines in 22 districts across 15 provinces, including in Tehran, where 32 candidates will run against each other.

The spokesman noted that no paper ballots will be available in the stations with electronic ballot boxes, saying the results of e-voting will be obtained instantly.

The elections will kick off at 8 am on May 10 and will continue for 10 hours, but the voting period could be extended at the discretion of the interior minister, Eslami said.

The spokesman added that considering the successful process of e-voting, next year’s presidential election is expected to be held with electronic voting machines across the nation.

The countrywide elections for the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts were held on March 1.

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.

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