Iran begins preparations for legislative elections amid Gaza war 'distractions'

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas dominates much of the political landscape and local media attention, leaving limited space for the campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2024.  

In these elections, conservatives aim to strengthen their control over decision-making positions. 

The complex process of selecting the final candidates for the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) elections has passed a significant stage, with the Constitutional Council rejecting 28 percent of the nominations from 24,982 individuals. 

The number of candidates who will compete on March 1, 2024, to renew the 209 seats in the parliament and the 88 seats in the Assembly of Experts cannot be predicted until the lists become final just a month before the elections. 

The 2024 elections are of significant importance, as the previous round in 2020 witnessed the exclusion of a large number of reformist and moderate candidates, practically turning the elections into a competition between conservatives and hardline conservatives. 

The widespread and controversial exclusion of these candidates was cited as one of the reasons for the decline in voter turnout, with only 42.57 percent of voters participating, the lowest rate recorded since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. 

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Thursday for every necessary effort to ensure "enthusiastic elections" in March. 

This came during his meeting with members of the Constitutional Council, which holds the authority to determine the eligibility of candidates for the elections. 

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi affirmed that his government has "no candidate" for the parliamentary elections and is only trying to "encourage increased participation" from "all political components." 

AFP