Speaking to Tasnim, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai, the Guardian Council’s spokesperson, said members of the council have approved a proposal from the Interior Ministry to delay the runoff election because of the novel coronavirus that has gripped the country.

He said the Guardian Council members have set September 11 as the date of the election.

The runoff parliamentary election was initially slated for April 17.

The Iranian Health Ministry said on Saturday that since the outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country, 4,339 patients have completely recovered from the infectious disease.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 12,729.

Authorities say the death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic in Iran stands at 611.

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“The colleagues in all polling stations are counting votes and drafting minutes,” Seyed Esmaeil Mousavi said on Saturday.

“God willing, after counting the ballots cast at the stations, the results will be announced to the Elections Headquarters,” he said, adding, “We will inform the public of the results of each constituency according to the routine process in the Election Headquarters.”

He further expressed hope that the results of most of the constituencies will be announced on Saturday, saying that in large cities, they are trying to be able to announce the results by Sunday.

The nationwide votes for the parliament and the midterm elections of the Assembly of Experts officially began in Iran on Friday morning and closed at midnight.

In comments after voting just minutes after beginning the elections, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei described the election day as a “national celebration” and a day to “restore the civil rights of the nation”.

Ayatollah Khamenei also emphasized that participation in the election is a “religious duty”.

“The election guarantees the country’s national interests, and whoever is interested in the country’s national interests must take part in the election,” the Leader added.

Having gone through a formal qualification process by Iran’s Guardian Council, a total of 7,148 candidates, including dozens of Iranians from the religious minorities, are running for the parliament. There are 290 seats in the parliament up for grabs.

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The campaignings ended at 8:00 am (0430 GMT Thursday) and any campaigning beyond this time is a violation of election regulations, Iranian Election Committee said in a statement on Wednesday, Press TV reported.

Iran’s parliamentary elections and the midterm elections for the Assembly of Experts – a body whose members designate the country’s Leader – are to be held simultaneously on February 21.

Campaigns officially started last Thursday and the candidates had one week to win the people’s support for their candidacy. Following the campaigning, there will be a 24-hour silence period until voting begins on Friday morning.

More than 7,000 candidates are competing to enter the parliament. A winning candidate must have at least 20 percent of the votes cast in their constituency in order to become lawmakers for a four-year term.

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

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Wednesday that a total of 55,000 polling stations and over 200 constituencies have been prepared across the country’s 31 provinces for the people to cast their votes.

He said that his ministry is fully prepared to hold the elections, which he described as “a manifestation of people’s participation in (determining) the country’s destiny.”

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of Iran’s Guardian Council (GC), which is in charge of supervising elections, called on observers of the votes to help executive committees hold “healthy and lawful elections” under close scrutiny and without interference in the voting process.

In a message addressed to the monitors of the elections, Ayatollah Jannati said all observers, regardless of their political or factional inclinations, had to apply the rule of law and avoid bias.

All observers are obliged to make sure that the candidates are financially healthy and therefore less prone to fraud, he added.

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“A strong Iran without a strong parliament is an unattainable dream,” Shamkhani said on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

“In a religious democracy, political participation is the only way to create a strong parliament,” he wrote, adding that any Iranian who wants a strong Iran should participate in the elections.

Election campaigns officially began in Iran at 00:00 Thursday and will last until the end of Wednesday.

The nationwide votes for the parliament and the midterm election of the Assembly of Experts will be held simultaneously on Friday, February 21.

The campaigns for the Assembly of Experts midterm election had already begun on February 6.

A total of 7,148 candidates, including dozens of Iranians from the religious minorities, are running for the parliament. There are 290 seats in the parliament up for grabs.

In capital Tehran, 1,453 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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“The greatest danger for democracy and national sovereignty is the day when elections become a formality,” Rouhani said in a meeting with provincial governors.

“May God never bring this day,” he added.

The remarks came after the Guardian Council, a supervisory body that vets candidates, disqualified thousands of nominees – including 92 sitting lawmakers, weeks before the vote.

The council, which oversees Iran’s elections, says it has qualified some 5,000 candidates for running, almost one-third of the 14,500 those who signed up for the polls.

Candidates who are disqualified will be allowed to appeal before the elections.

Rouhani, whose moderate conservatives and reformist allies fear losing their majority in the upcoming elections, implied that the disqualifications risked appointments being made “elsewhere” than the ballot box.

In an apparent reference to ultra-conservatives, he said: “they should at least let there be competition and high turnout”.

“You claim that you will win the election. That is fine, but only allow the election to be a competitive one.”

Rouhani also highlighted the need for diversity in the vote.

“It is very important that people feel they choose one from different thoughts. This is an election,” he said.

“Let us reassure the people and tell them our system is not a single-party system.”

He said, “Public trust is more important than elections.”

“This parliamentary election is a very important election … I have written letters to relevant authorities. Everyone should strive to resolve the issue of competition,” the president said.

Rouhani called on Iranians of all stripes to vote, “even if… there are shortcomings in elections”.

“Sometime I may not want to vote for some reason, but some other time I may not have enough trust to go to the ballot box; this is very dangerous,” he said.

Rouhani warned that the elections should not be held with “minimum participation”.

“I am calling on our nation to vote,” Rouhani said. “Even if you have criticism over issues and problems, please cast your vote.”

Call for national unity

The president also said Iranians should not allow US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach to harm national unity ahead of parliamentary elections.

“This is a matter of national interest. We should all stand up and not allow Trump to succeed in creating gaps between the establishment and people … We should remain united … Don’t turn your back on elections. Let’s have a high turnout,” Rouhani said.

“We have to be careful, they are terrorizing people’s trust in the system,” he added.

“We should not let Trump and those terrorists in the White House isolate Iran.”

AFP, Reuters and Press TV contributed to this story.

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As IRNA reported, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of Guardian Council said, “Investigating complaints and qualifications records, especially in such short time, is an extremely laborious measure which the Guardian Council is doing carefully so that no one’s right is violated.”

He said the registrants’ qualifications are being examined based on documented records.

The next parliamentary elections will be held on February 21.

To be able to run for parliament, the candidates must be finally confirmed by the Guardian Council.

The candidates will have 8 days to spend on the campaign trail, ending on February 19.

The Iranian parliament has 290 members who are elected by the people for four-year terms.

The parliamentary elections will be held in over 200 constituencies across the country’s 31 provinces.

The midterm elections of the Assembly of Experts will also be held on the same date in Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, Fars and Qom provinces.

Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei said on Saturday that the council would not dismiss as ineligible the candidates who have criticized the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We have a free country and merely criticizing an individual or body would not lead to disqualification,” Kadkhodaei told a press conference.

However, he added, insult, defamation and inflammatory remarks, which are clearly different from criticism, will be probed into when vetting candidates.

Earlier this month, Kadkhodaei said that the council is the only body responsible to supervise the elections.

“Sometimes questions arise over whether we are the only supervisor of the elections or not,” Kadkhodaei said, adding, “I emphasize that the Guardian Council is the only supervisor of the elections.”

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Abas Ali Kadkhodaei, who also serves as the deputy secretary-general of the council, wrote that time for registration of candidates ended on Saturday evening and “more than 16,000 candidates register for the 11th parliamentary election.”

He said, “Monitoring and executive teams will review the competency of the registered candidates and will announce the final list according to the constitution.”

On December 1, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei advised potential parliamentary candidates not to run for the elections “if you don’t have management capabilities.”

Jamal Orf, the Interior Ministry director for election headquarters, announced on Sunday that 248 sitting MPs and 633 former MPs have registered to run for parliament.

The Leader criticized the way many people register for the elections, saying now that potential candidates can register for the parliamentary elections, a lot of people go ahead and register without hesitation.

Every responsibility or position requires certain commitments, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“You have to see if you can make that commitment,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Interior Ministry started registering candidates for the parliamentary elections on December 8. It ended on December 7.

The election will be held on February 21, 2020.

The elections will be held in over 200 constituencies across the country’s 31 provinces.

The Guardian Council will release the names of candidates deemed eligible to run by December 18.

Disqualified candidates will have four days to object to the Guardian Council, after which the council will study complaints and announce the final list on February 11.

The candidates will have 8 days to spend on the campaign trail, ending on February 19, and then the elections will be held on February 21.

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