Alwaght- Election campaigns have officially kicked off across the country as a week separates the nation from parliamentary elections that are described significant for the country's economy and foreign policy amid regional developments.
Candidates across the country launched their campaigns to introduce their plans to the public.
Voters are due to cast their ballots on March 1 to select new members of parliament and the Assembly of Experts, with the new parliament expected to form in late May.
Jurists responsible for the vetting process have approved around 15,200 candidates competing for the legislature's 290 seats, which marks a record number since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated that Iran is prepping for a competition among groups with different political approaches, adding that candidates and supporters should still comply with the legal frameworks of the elections with full discipline and thus should refrain from tarnishing other candidates.
According to journalist Maziar Khosravi, a majority of the candidates, specifically in small constituencies, have careers as doctors, engineers, civil servants, and teachers who are not associated with any political group.
This comes after the Guardian Council delivered the names of the qualified candidates to the Interior Ministry, which include 1,713 women, double the 819 who competed in the 2020 elections.
Iran's Supreme Leader has called for massive turnout to show the real power of people.
"Elections are the main pillar of the the Islamic Republic. The way to reform the country is through elections," he told a mass of people visiting him from East Azerbaijan province.
He insists that election is a source of power to the country and a good parliament can guide the country through these critical conditions in the region.
"Anyone who opposes the elections is opposing the Islamic Republic and Islamic," he said.
Also, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Friday the maximal participation of Iranians in upcoming elections will send a strong message and an "ultimatum" to enemies.
“On Friday, March 1, we’re going to face the enemy with another ultimatum,” Major General Hossein Salami said during an event in the southern city of Shiraz on Friday.
People also vote for candidates running for Assembly of Experts. In the Assembly elections, 144 candidates are vying for 88 seats at the body, which elects and oversess the activities of the Leader of Islamic Revolution and is in a position of authority to either appoint or dismiss the Leader.
