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Huge turnout in polls show Iranians trust establishment: Analyst

Saturday, 27 February 2016 6:16 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 27 February 2016 6:16 AM ]

An Iranian man casts his ballot at a polling station in Tehran on February 26, 2016. ©AFP

Press TV has conducted an interview with Seyyed Abdollah Hosseini, a political commentator from Tehran, and Jonathan Fryer, a writer and lecturer from London, to discuss the high turnout in Iran’s parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

Hosseini says the number of elections, which have been held since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, proves that the Iranian government wants people to participate in politics and decide their own future.

The government proved that the people could freely elect their own leaders, says the analyst, slamming the media hype over the free and fair elections in Iran.

Hosseini further praises the role of religious minorities, including Jews, in the Iranian Parliament and says the Islamic Republic has allowed them to have a say in the legislative chamber since the beginning by choosing their own representatives.

Iranians cast their ballots in Assembly of Experts elections on February 26, 2016. (IRNA)

He further calls on the Western powers “not to practice double-standard” polices in dealing with the “democratic” Islamic Republic of Iran, saying the establishment enjoys “eye-catching” support among the people, who have always turned out en masse in all elections since 1979.

Fryer, for his part, says the big turnout in Iran’s parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections indicates that “a lot of young people are voting, which is very important.”

He adds that the Iranians follow up on their economic demands through democratic channels, stressing, “It’s really important they have confidence in the democratic system, in the Majlis (Parliament).”

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