Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Tehran, Iran, February 21, 2020. /Reuters
Iran's interior minister said on Sunday that 42.6 percent of eligible voters turned out for the country's parliamentary election, a record low in such polls since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said the participation rate was "acceptable" for Iran after it experienced bad weather, an air disaster, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and other incidents in the lead-up to Friday's election.
Turnout was 62 percent in the 2016 parliamentary vote and 66 percent of people voted in 2012.
Experts had predicted a low turnout after poll authorities barred roughly half the 16,000-odd candidates – mostly reformists and moderates – from contesting for a seat.
A woman wears a mask as she casts her vote during the parliamentary election at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, February 21, 2020. /Reuters
Conservatives look set for a landslide win in the 290-seat parliament. The moderates have been weakened by the U.S. pullout from a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and the imposition of fresh sanctions.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday accused foreign media of trying to use the deadly outbreak to "discourage" people from voting in the election.
"This negative propaganda began a few months ago and grew larger approaching the election and in the past two days, under the pretext of an illness and a virus, their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting," said Khamenei.
"(Our enemies) are even opposed to any election by the Iranian people," the leader was quoted as saying on his official website.
The COVID-19 outbreak has claimed the lives of eight people in the Islamic republic since Wednesday. A total of 43 confirmed cases have been announced.
Khamenei said on Friday that voting was "a religious duty."
(With input from AFP, Reuters)