The conservatives who have the power to Iran they won the parliamentary elections as expectedwhich were characterized by record abstinence.

Four days after the election, the government announced today that turnout in Friday’s parliamentary elections reached 41 percent — the lowest since the Islamic Revolution.

A total of “25 million” of the 61 million voters “participated, which is 41 percent,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told a news conference, without giving an exact figure.

This figure is lower than the 42.57% turnout in the previous 2020 election, which was held at the start of the Covid crisis.

The turnout was therefore the lowest in a parliamentary election since the 1979 revolution, amid calls for abstention after many moderate or reformist candidates were ruled out ahead of the election.

Iranians have been asked to renew the 290-member unicameral Parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts, responsible for appointing the country’s supreme leader.

Vahidi expressed satisfaction that “despite strong propaganda and unprecedented enemies and the use of all tools to discourage people from voting, despite economic problems, the people showed a wonderful mobilization.”

The interior minister also accused “negative forces, including intelligence agencies and terrorist groups” of trying to “undermine the security” of the election without succeeding. He did not give more details about these “enemies”. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the US, Israel and some European countries. Washington had said on Thursday that these elections were neither “free” nor “fair”.

Turnout was the main stake in these elections, which were seen as a test for the government because they are the first since the major protest movement that rocked the country following the September 2022 death of young Makhsa Amini. Amini, 22, was arrested for not following the country’s strict dress code and died while in custody.

– “The reformers are in a significant minority” –

The largest coalition of reformist parties, the Reform Front, had announced its refusal to participate in these “meaningless elections” after several of its candidates were disqualified.

Because of this boycott, the next parliament will be very much under the control of various conservative and ultraconservative parties that support the government of President Ibrahim Raisi, who was elected in 2021. The number of reformist or centrist MPs is expected to be less than 45 , according to moderate newspaper estimates.

The majority advocates a hard line on the Islamic Republic’s values ​​and strictness with Western countries, notably the US and Israel, two countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Iran.

The composition of the parliament will be known after the second round of elections to be held in April or May, for 45 of the 290 seats, as the candidates did not receive enough votes.

The Assembly of Experts, which is made up of 88 religious scholars, will continue to be dominated by conservatives, as moderate candidates such as former President Hassan Rouhani were excluded. The Assembly will be asked to play a very important role in the process in which the new Supreme Leader will be appointed, in the event of the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who is 84 years old.