One Armenian Candidate Withdraws from Iran Elections
Conservatives and Reformers are competing for 290 seats in Iran’s parliamentary elections which will take place on 26 February. Overall, more than 12 thousand citizens had submitted their candidacy, but eventually only 6 thousand 200 candidacies were approved, out of which 586 are women. As noted by expert of Iranian studies Gohar Iskandaryan at a news conference in the press hall of “Armenpress”, a heated competition is expected among Armenian candidates as well. In the beginning 9 candidates were competing over 2 seats which were foreseen for Armenian candidates, but eventually one of them withdrew.
“I think that Jorjik Abrahamyan has good chances for winning in the southern part. Formerly he was a member of Parliament and worked productively, and the community remembers the bills that passed and came into reality thanks to him. Karen Khanlaryan has chances of winning in the northern part. He is currently a member of parliament and works quite effectively. The Armenian community is satisfied with his work. His candidacy is supported by the ARF, “Gohar Iskandaryan said.
The expert noted that an interesting concept is observed in this parliamentary elections. After the cancellation of sanctions against Iran the positions of the Reformists have grown. “The public is happy with their policies, but the Conservatives do not want to cede their place. This is the reason why the Interior Ministry has reduced the number of Reformers and more Conservatives are able to participate in the elections. Even if the elections are fair and transparent, the Conservatives are going to have more seats in the Parliament. This is done to ensure balance, “Gohar Iskandaryan said, adding that the leadership of the country is in the hands of moderate Conservatives, but each bill that they put forward should ultimately be approved by the Parliament, were the majority will be Conservatives. The President of Iran and the Religious Leader have already urged the people to actively participate in the voting.
