Ayatollah’s call for Iran to stand against ‘arrogant powers’ in election

 

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged his compatriots to vote in large numbers in Friday’s parliamentary elections in order to send a strong message of national solidarity to the West.

With the international stand-off continuing over Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme, he said: “The arrogant powers are bullying us to maintain their prestige. A high turnout will be better for our nation, and for preserving security.”

The authorities said polling stations were kept open for an extra two hours to satisfy demand, but opposition activists said the order had been given to lessen the embarrassment of what was proving to be a very low turnout.

There were widespread claims of electoral fraud, with regime officials allegedly providing gold coins, mobile phone SIM cards, and various other enticements to vote.

It was also claimed that some soldiers were offered three days’ leave if they voted and threatened with three days’ extra service if they did not.

Ayatollah Khamenei said it was a “duty and a right” for Iranians to elect members of the 290-seat parliament, the Majlis, but did not relax rules that gave the hardline Guardian Council the power to vet most of the 5,382 candidates.

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