Iranians' vote crushing response to US arrogance

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Spokesman of Iran's Guardian Council Abbas Ali Kadkhodayee who has recently been sanctioned by Washington said that the Iranian people's mass-participation in elections will be a strong response to the US arrogance.

The US on Thursday sanctioned five members of Iran's Guardian Council, including Secretary Ahmad Jannati, over allegations that they are impeding fair elections in the country.

The US Treasury said that it had designated Ahmad Jannati, Abbas Ali Kadkhodayee, Siamak Rahpeyk, Mohammad Hasan Sadeghi Moghadam and Mohammad Yazdi—all members of the Guardian Council and its Elections Supervision Committee.

Speaking to the reporters on Friday, Kadkhodayee noted that the US United States has always been hostile towards Iranians and has kept threatening the nation over the past years.

"This is an honor for us, and in the words of Martyr Beheshti, the US is angry because it has been pushed out of Iran," he added.

"Today, Iranian people will give a strong response to the US arrogant government at the casting ballot," Kadkhodayee said.

Iranians headed to the polls to elect 290 members of Majlis (the parliament) and 7 members of the Assembly of Experts in its midterm elections on Friday morning.

Voting started at 8 a.m. local time (0430GMT) and will continue till 6 p.m. (1430GMT). Officials will extend the voting time if faced with long ques of voters at the polling stations.

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli had announced last Saturday that 54,611 polling stations across the country would open on Friday in 208 electoral regions, saying the ballot papers have been designed with 10 security indices to prevent any fraud.
According to the interior minister, there are 57,918,159 eligible voters in the parliamentary elections on Friday, including around 3 million people eligible to vote for the first time.

Law Enforcement Police forces and (Basij) voluntary forces have been entrusted with establishment of security in different cities and towns during elections hours.

Last Tuesday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called on people to go to the polls.

"Elections are a source for strengthening the country. Look at how US propaganda seeks to separate the people from the Islamic system. They create think tanks to plot this. They seek to distance the Iranian youth from the Islamic system, but they won’t succeed," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing a large number of Iranian people from East Azarbaijan province in Tehran.

"Enemies and friends are watching. Enemies want to see the result of these economic problems, the Westerners’ deceit in their promises to us, and the US pressures on the people. Our friends watch worriedly, but we always tell them not to worry. The Iranian nation knows what it’s doing," he said.

"Taking part in the elections nullifies many of the vicious plots of the US and the Zionist regime against Iran. These elections repel the schemes and ploys of the enemies of Iran," Ayatollah Khamenei added.

"Iran should become stronger; this frustrates the enemy. One manifestation of strength is having a strong Majlis. The more participation there is in the election, the stronger the Majlis will be. This is one factor for strengthening the Majlis," he continued.

Campaigns officially kicked off in Iran last week by nominees of parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

The election campaigns officially started at 00:00 February 13, and the candidates had one week to win the people’s support for their candidacy.

The 11th parliamentary elections and the midterm elections for the Assembly of Experts – a body whose members designate the country’s Leader – are being held simultaneously.

Meantime, the Iranian interior minister said last Saturday that a runoff vote for the parliamentary seats will be held on April 17 if the candidates fail to garner enough votes on Friday.

Last year, Iran's parliament objected to a motion to increase the number of the seats, keeping the figure at 290.

A total of 57,918,000 people are eligible to cast their ballots, therefore; there would be one lawmaker at the parliament per each 190,000-strong segment of the Iranian population.

A total of 7,148 candidates, including dozens of Iranians from the religious minorities, are running for the parliament.

In capital Tehran, 1,335 candidates are contesting one of the 30 allocated seats on the legislature.

The lawmakers are elected for a 4-year term, with no limitation for the incumbent or former parliamentarians to run again.

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