Iran votes in vital elections after nuclear deal

Tehran, Feb 26: Iranians vote today in elections billed by the moderate president as vital to curbing conservative dominance in parliament and speeding up domestic reforms after a nuclear deal with world powers.

A pro-government coalition called "The List of Hope" is representing President Hassan Rouhani's ambitions in the polls. Almost 55 million people are eligible to cast ballots that will ultimately elect 290 lawmakers.

They will also vote in a second election to select the Assembly of Experts, a powerful committee of 88 clerics that monitors the work of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While MPs are elected for four years the assembly will be granted an eight-year term.

Should Khamenei, who is 76, die during that time its members would pick his successor. Voting starts at 6am (0430 GMT) and closes at 6pm although officials say polling stations could stay open if there are queues and more time is needed to cast ballots.

As Iran's ultimate authority, Khamenei's powers outrank those of Rouhani, but the president is looking for gains in parliament to allow him to build on the nuclear deal by bringing improvements at home.

The economy has featured strongly during the election campaign as Iran faces a stubborn challenge to overcome the damage that almost a decade of sanctions caused. The elections will be a crucial indicator of the future direction Iranians want for their country.

Rouhani has played up the potential for foreign investment which he says will bring jobs, particularly for Iran's youth whose unemployment rate of 25 percent is two-and-a-half times the national average.

However, conservatives say strong economic growth will only be possible if an emphasis is placed on domestic production under a "resistance economy" model more in tune with the ideals of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Although he returned the economy to growth after inheriting a recession, the president remains vulnerable as the benefit of sanctions relief and a return of international business will take time.

AFP