Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Islamic Parliament of Iran

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections

Background

Election date(s) The date when elections started and ended for directly or indirectly elected parliaments/chambers. The date of appointments for appointed parliaments/chambers.
21.02.2020 to 11.09.2020
Timing of election Timing of election: Upon normal expiry; Early elections; Delayed elections
Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections The expected date at which the next elections should take place, based on law or practice.
29.02.2028
Number of seats at stake Number of seats contested at the elections. Where the parliament/chamber is fully renewed, this number is usually identical to the statutory number of members. Where the parliament/chamber is partially renewed or appointed, the number of seats at stake is usually less than the total number of members.
290
Scope of elections Scope of elections: Full renewal; Partial renewal.
Full renewal

Candidates

Total number of candidates Total number of people who registered as candidates for election. Does not include people who stood as candidates to become "substitute members".
7,148
Number of male candidates Number of male candidates
6,482
Number of female candidates Number of female candidates
666
Percentage of women candidates The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.
9.32%

Voter turnout

Registration Number of people registered to vote
57,918,159
Votes Number of people who actually voted
24,512,404
Voter turnout The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of people who actually voted by the number of people registered to vote
42.32%

Results

About the election Short description of the context and results of the election.
The principle-ists (see note 1) won around 230 seats in the 290-member Parliament. They swept all 30 seats in Tehran, a traditional stronghold of reformists. At least 16 reformist candidates, including the outgoing first Deputy Speaker Masoud Pezeshkian, were elected. Only seven members of the Hope Faction (see note 2) were voted back. The newly elected parliament was convened on 27 May and elected former mayor of Teheran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as its new Speaker. He succeeded Mr. Ali Ardeshir Larijani who had held the post since 2008.

Over half of the 15,000 candidates were disqualified by the Guardian Council (a 12 member body, half of whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei). The disqualified candidates included about 80 outgoing MPs. Only 170 outgoing MPs stood for the 2020 elections. The elections were the first to be held after the United States reintroduced sanctions over the country’s nuclear programme in 2018. The major electoral issue included the economy. Mr. Ghalibaf said that only 30 per cent of the economic travails were caused by sanctions, thus criticizing reformists of mismanaging the economy.

The 2020 elections were held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani called for a high voter turnout. The elections recorded the lowest turnout since the 1979 revolution: Only 42.32 per cent of some 58 million voters turned out at the polls. The interior minister attributed the low turnout to the COVID-19 pandemic and “the political conditions” citing massive anti-government protests in November 2019. The second round of the elections, which had been scheduled for 17 April, was postponed to 11 September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Note 1:
While political parties exist, they are not active. The "conservatives" (often referred to as principal-ists or fundamentalists) and "reformists" are generally considered to be the main political forces. The reformists favour expanded social freedoms and engagement with the West.

Note 2:
The Universal Coalition of Reformists ("List of Hope") took some 120 seats in the 2016 elections. They comprised moderate conservatives who had backed the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Alternation of power after elections The results of the elections caused a change in the government. "Not applicable" to countries using the presidential system when parliamentary and presidential elections are held separately, to countries in political transition or where there is no party system.
No
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
262
Number of women elected
17
Percentage of women elected The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
5.86%
Note on the Distribution of seats according to sex
- The first round of elections was held in February 2020. A total of 279 members were elected, including 17 women.
- Before the first session of the newly elected parliament, held on 28 May 2020, two MPs, including one woman, had passed away from coronavirus, and one MP had been disqualified. There were thus 16 women out of 276 members.
- The second round of elections was postponed from 17 April to 11 September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten more male members were elected, bringing the total number of members from 276 to 286, of whom 16 were women. Four vacant seats will be filled in 2021.
Sources
Islamic Parliament of Iran (14.03.2020, 01.06.2020, 13.10.2020)
BBC
BBC Monitoring
https://www.tasnimnews.com
Reuters
AFP
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org
https://www.aljazeera.com/
https://www.tehrantimes.com/
https://www.theguardian.com
Women Directly Elected
17

New legislature

Total number of men after the election The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
270
Total number of women after the election The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
16
First-term parliamentarians The number of members who are assuming their parliamentary mandate for the first time following the election or renewal, regardless of their mode of designation.
179
Date of the first session The date when the newly elected parliament/chamber was convened for the first time. It may be different from the date when members were sworn in.
27.05.2020
First Speaker of the new legislature
First Speaker of the new legislature First name of the Speaker of the new legislature following the election or renewal.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (Male)
Date of election
28.05.2020