Beginning of the counting of votes in Iran and the likelihood of the conservatives winning a majority of seats in Parliament

Polling stations in Iran closed at midnight on Friday after extending the voting time for several hours to raise the low turnout, while the reports expected the conservatives to win a majority of the seats in Parliament.

The authorities announced the start of the screening operations, and it is not expected to announce the final results before next Sunday.

Before the extension of the vote, an Interior Ministry official estimated the turnout at about 11 million voters out of a total of 58 million eligible to vote in the 290-member parliament.

But Fars News Agency, which is close to the governors, said that the percentage was around 40% across the country, at around 6 pm, which was the time when polling stations were to be closed before being extended for hours.

Long queues were formed in front of polling stations south of Tehran, where the conservatives have a solid electoral base, while the number of voters was lower in the north of the capital, which had previously been voted by a majority for moderate President Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.

The Iranian elections coincided with the discovery of HIV infections in the country, which resulted in the death of four people and caused panic among the population.

News agencies reported that the Iranians were reluctant to vote due to their disappointment with the performance of the politicians, amid high unemployment and difficult living conditions.

We are getting poorer
Amir Hussain, 28, said, "In my district in central Tehran, there are not many people voting. There is one voting center near my house in Jawadiya and there were only a few voters when I visited it about an hour ago."

From Isfahan, the young man, Puria, said, "I don't care about these elections. The moderates or the hardliners are all the same. We are getting poorer every day." "I will leave Iran soon. There are no jobs, there is no future ahead."

But employee Mohsen Jalali stressed that the goal of the vote is "to show (to the United States) that we fully support our mentor" Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei was the first to vote, and he urged the Iranians to vote in large numbers "in order to disappoint the enemies."

Tory fist
Reuters news agency reported that conservatives loyal to the Supreme Leader are likely to sweep the parliamentary elections, which strengthens their grip on power at a time when Tehran faces mounting American pressure over its nuclear program, in addition to the growing discontent within the country of living conditions.

The Guardian Council had excluded 6,850 moderates and conservatives
Prominent of the elections for many reasons, including "corruption and disloyalty to Islam".

The elections are not expected to have a major impact on foreign affairs or politics
A nuclear Iran decided by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. But it may boost the conservatives ’chances in the presidential election in 2021.

It is noteworthy that the Iranian economy was hit hard after Washington withdrew in 2018 from
The nuclear agreement concluded between Tehran and world powers, which led to widespread living difficulties.

Tensions have risen sharply between Iran and the United States since the death of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, in a US air strike with a drone in Baghdad on January 3.