on friday march 1st, millions of iranian people went to the polls to select 290 lawmakers. from among over 15,000 candidates. the poll was twined with vote for 88 members of the assembly of experts, body task with choosing and supervising the leader of the islamic revolution. the polls closed at midnight on friday, six hours later than planned due to second surge of people who decided to cast their votes in the evening. at the same time, more than 350 foreign reporters from over 20 countries were present in iran to... cover the news of the country's

national elections. the twin elections were held smoothly on one single day with the least possible problems, despite all the efforts put in to show the democratic event as a thorny problem for the iranian political system. the parliament is iran's national legislator and its members are responsible for drafting legislation, approving the annual budget or any international treaties and agreements among. other things, the new elected members will convene in late may as long, makers are expected to direct

the country toward better future by laws they pass, amend and change. this is mr.qi, former iranian mp and a senior member of islamic coalition party. if the parliament does its supervisory role and makes sure that the laws are being implemented, many of the current problems will vanish because the solutions have already been. developed and adopted as laws, the important thing is to enforce them. of if the next parliament focuses more on upholding the existing laws, the majority of the current problems will be solved. indexes are indicating an improving situation. the world bank's figures and statistics also of confirm this claim. i think that many of the current problems will be solved in the next two years. initial results are indicative of rather new configuration in the islamic

consultative assembly or iran's parliament. with votes tallied manually, iran's ballot takes time to count. as of producing this episode, official preliminary results from tehran indicated that mahmoud nabaviyan and hamid rasai, two principalits had topped the list of 30 representatives, followed by 35 year old state television host turned first time law maker amir hosen sabeti. speaker mohammed. and only a handful of his sponsored candidates ascended. long time lawmer grabbed seat in the holy shiah city of. ali muthari, former famous parliamentarian affiliated with the principalist failed along with most members of his 30 long list for tehran to come close to securing seat. senior expert in midle east issues has more to say. and the

upcoming parliament, well the principalist assembled various lists of candidates and on the other hand, the reformers didn't have serious participation in the elections, based on the initial results, the majority of successful candidates are, let's say ultra revolutionary, critical of the current parliament and its regardless of the results, it was a political competition and we all have to respect the results. as for the assembly of experts, president ibrahim raisi renewed his place for a third time, securing more than 82% of the vote in the south horasan province located in eastern iran. on the other hand, sadek amoli larijani, current head of the top arbitration body, known as the expediency council, was perhaps. the most

notable figure who failed to grab seat in the assembly. the official turnout in the iranian parliamentary and the assembly of experts elections is yet to be announced, but preliminary results at the time of recording this episode of iran today suggest that more than 40% of voters went to the polls on march 1st, rejecting the calls from hostile western regimes and their media outlets to boycott the elections. what is your uh overall assessment of this round of parliamentary elections in iran? این انتخابات در واقع بزرگترین کمپین ( in our estimation, the enemies of the islamic revolution spent millions of dollars in order to discourage people from going to the poles, but their

plot backfired and the voter turnout was over 40%, and that was not something the enemies hoped to happen. the elections were held across. has 59,00 voting stations across iran with 6,800 in the province of tehran, which included the capital and several surrounding cities. until this election, birth certificates had been required as voter identification. this time voters could use their national id numbers or other id documents instead. in fact, according to semi-official reports, 86% of voters in friday's elections cast their ballots. using their national id cards, 11% with birth certificates, 3% with driver's licenses and less than 1% with passports and military service completion cards. to dr. kanoni muqadam, the voter turnout was good enough.

well, those much about national interests went to the polls, although the voter turnout was not. as high as we expected, in terms of quality, the elections were entirely satisfactory, people took part in according to the latest statistics, the voter turnout is nearly 50%. although in tehran it was less than other big cities, the ministry of interior is to announce the exact number. anyway, the political plot hashed by the enemies of the country to undermine the credibility of the elections was foiled in this sense, turnout was success. comparatively speaking, voter turnout in 2020 was 42.6%, while in 2016 it reached 61.6% and in 2012 it was 63.9%. it means that this time

around the turnout rate is almost the same as the last elections. that's why this year saw the biggest election boycott campaign in the last 45 years orchestrated from abroad. to have better understanding of the voter turnout, we talked to mr. nasir imani, an iranian political analyst. the same as the last round of elections four years ago, so it is not correct in my opinion to link this level of turnout to the developments that have unfolded in the country over the past two to three years. this voter turn out desirable? well, in other countries, this level is something acceptable if not desirable. before the islamic republic of iran, no, it is not desirable. we should not countent ourselves with this turnout rate and need to increase it for the next elections.

in the streets of the gaza strip, which was suffocating under wave of profound sadness, hopes of getting a loaf of bread turned into funeral procession. and sorrow, on the morning that followed the dreadful flower massacre, families buried their hungry, marttered children, as arab aircrafts didn't hesitate to replay the same aerial drop theater, dropping the packages this time inside zionist israeli settlements of the gaza enclave, is there anything more humiliating and denigrating against a genocide stricken and started people? if aid was the real reason behind the shared, then same people who wanted to help should have opened the rafah border, allowing eight trucks into gaza and handing... them over to international or local entities responsible for distributing them to the starving people bate in the form of aid in gaza this week on the media stream. there's plenty more to be

said, but first a quick media review to give other outlets a chance to get award in. hello everyone, welcome to the new... section of the program, we will go over some news headlines. president hails election turn out as blow to opponents of iran. iran's president, ibrahim raisi has appreciated the iranian people for their massive turn up. out in the friday elections to choose members of parliament as well as the assembly of experts, saying that the turnout was a blow to opponents of the country. in all right, raisi said in his message that the ill wishers of the country did all they could to discourage people from voting, but the people's participation filled with faith and hope was a big no to the inhumane front of arrogance and foiled their insincere plan. iranians rebuff electoral boycott calls, before the voting day had even arrived in iran. western media outlets became a watch with reports and analyses predicting that

iranians would not turn up at the polling stations this year. tehran times writes, headlines such as iran braces for low election turnouts, iranians expected to shun elections and low turnout and boycott expected were how the stenographers of politicians in the west decided to speak of iran's march 1st elections. however, none of these renowned media outlets managed to come up with substance. data or polling information to support their claims. iran parliamentary elections likely to go to runoff. with 400 out of 500 ballot boxes in tehran counted, some of the candidates seem to have to compete in a runoff, as there were no clear winners among them, officials say. quoting from governor of tehran province ofhari iran front page writes, this law says any candidate who wins at least 20% of the valid votes can enter. element in the first round, but if they fail to garner at least 20% of the ballots, they will probably go to

second round. over 250,000 forces ensure security of elections, official says iranian interior ministry's deputy for security affairs, majid mirahmadi said on friday over 250,00 forces have been tased with ensuring the security of elections and guarding the polling sites. shar ahmadi said on friday morning that long of voters have been formed at many polling stations across the country, describing it as major epic. he noted that full security prevails at all polling stations, thanks to the efforts by the security and intelligence organizations. venezuela congratulates iran on elections, commands its people's will. venezuela's foreign minister has congratulated iran and its people on their elections and their dedications to combatting foreign plots. venezuela has congrat related iran in celebration of its elections, praising the exercise as a show of democracy, in a post on

x, the venezuelan minister of foreign affairs said the president nicolas maduro and the government of venezuela congratulate the people and the government of the sister islamic republic of iran for the celebration the democratic exercise carried out in the 12th elections for the consultative assembly or majlis and the sixth elections for the assembly of experts this march 1st. 2024 in the iranian territory. thank you for joining us in this section. let's go back to the main narrative. the elections were a big slap to those who tried to keep the polling booths empty of voters, that is the soren enemies of the iranian nation. on contrary, people came out in large numbers to exercise their voting rights, thorting the plots hatched by troublemongers and nasayers. they left no stone on.

at the same time, western media outlets cast doubt on the elections, they try to say that the elections were meaningless with no impact on the future of the people. that said, i have to admit that economic problems acted negatively. some people might have lost their faith in the efficiency and efficacy of the parliament as body capable of resolving the economic problems. western media showed open. in these elections, not towards the candidates and their policies and not towards the absence of certain candidates, but

towards the very elections. even before the votes were cast, they issued premature verdicts with some even predicting less than 10% turnout and some suggesting that the iranian system was rotting. in other words, they weren't seeking to engage in journalism, but we're striving to graft a script for iran's elections and then cover it through their distorting lenses. republic of iran by calling on people to boycott elections, but people instead said a big no to them. each ballot was in fact a bullet shot at this boycott scheme. as for the opposition groups outside the country, they use anything to get funds. by ignoring many facts, they want to offer picture of the country which, although

has nothing to do with reality can appease their paymasters. while there are still some countries in the region have no idea about election, the us and its minions are trying to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the islamic republic by baking the question by linking the turnout rate to whatever they wish. even before the polls opened, they turn the elections a sham urging people not to vote. at the same time, some western media outlets try to manipulate their audiences by showing a few half- empty polling stations out of 60,000 of them across the country. linking turnout with the legitimacy of the entire political system is not only absurd but hypocritical. low or lukewm turnout has been a common phenomenon in other countries, including in the west. over the last two years, such trends have been widely reported in the german, french and british media, especially in the context of elections of secondary importance. but unlike the iranian

case, the legitimacy of the german, french and british governments has never been called in to question, given the relatively low turnout, do you think that the ruling system is faced with legitimation crisis? connect whatever happens in society to the legitimation crisis. you for months nationwide protests were held across france, but no one interpreted it as the legitimation crisis of the french political system. there is no logical. relationship between these two, you might infer from low turn out that there is, for example some sort of discountant in society at the performance of for example the government, but it's just jumping to conclusion if it connect any political or social development to the legitimation crisis. voter turnout is not a fixed stable phenomenon, it fluctuates from

time to time and it's not going to be the ultimate criterion for the legitimacy of a ruling system as no single factor determines voter turnout, rather a complex mix of individual, social and political factors have influence on it. for example, older, more educated and higher income earning people are generally more likely to vote than younger, less educated people and people with lower incomes. after nearly 40 elections, people may not take elections as serious as before, some might feel... that is okay if they do not go to the polls because there are many other people who go or because they think there are many other elections in the future that they can take part in. moreover, unlike some other countries in the world, going to the poles is not obligatory in our country. in other countries with higher voter turnout, strict rules, regulations and fines may act

as a carrot for the people to vote, but we do not agree with this method. never go to the polls under no circumstances, this is true about the elections held 10, 20 or 30 years ago, was there any legitimation crisis 30 years ago? i don't think so. linking voter turn out to the legitimacy of a political system is not just jumping into conclusion, but altering the reality for mischifous purposes. look as for the

self-proclaimed champions. democracy such as the us, the uk, france and the like. if you take a look at their voter turnout, it's usually below 50%, and that's despite all this strict rules, regulations, fines and sometimes punishments. so by their standards, we are still in a satisfactory state, although we were better in the early years after the revolution. as a republic we like to have higher voter turnout because we believe it would be to the benefit out the country. because for example, it will help us to have the upper hand in the international arena, yet we firmly believe that this political participation should be voluntary, unlike some other countries. such as turkey, france and the united states. since the victory of the islamic revolution of iran in 1979, 12 parliamentary elections have been

held in the country. the ruling system has always encouraged the public to go to the polls, to use their rights to vote and their rights to self-determination, and as long as they do so, the real winners will be the iranian people. but they vote so as to be heard, they want their opinions and concerns to be taken into serious considerations, whether through the ballot boxes or other ways, they want their representatives to be accessible and responsible and at the same time adherent to their election promises. while hostile media outlets zeroed in on the turnout rate, which is compared. comparatively on par with the rest of the world, this round of elections was outstanding in some other regards. for example, this time voters identification processes was done electronically and

therefore the voters didn't have to form endless cues. this year the candidates across the country were provided with nearly 200 tv channels and equal opportunity for the candidates. this was especially suitable for lesser known candidates and those who did not have enough budget for campaigning expenses, also printing posters, in addition to the unnecessary costs caused a lot of waste stage every year. this year, however, it was all avoided with free online and on-air platforms. this time, the islamic republic of iran broadcasting, the ir, provided the can this across the country with nearly 200 channels. this caused the feso of the city to remain. almost unchanged in the run up to the elections, you could rarely see posters, manners and flyers advertising the candidates. we had to explain this point to

foreign reporters who had come to iran expecting something else. i would like to add that these tv channels and social media platforms were very influential in shaping public opinion. but that's not all. this year also transparency and election campaigns reached a new high. have we had anything? elections, some good, some in need of reconsideration. i think the time for the election campaign needs to be extended. many candidates need more than two weeks to introduce themselves to their electorate. this limited time acts to the benefit of more famous candidates. on the other hand, the law transparency enforced this year was about the candidates campaign budget. was a good point for this round, the vetting process, i think still needs improvement, although in my opinion, the garden council's conduct was much better this year in comparison to the

past. moreover, the elections were held in complete security, insuring security for 59,000 voting stations is easier set than done, especially in the middle east, a region threaten by terrorist groups and their western paymasters. could you tell us about some of the positive aspects?

no matter how big, famous or influential they might be. in a fair and free election, the result is no way a foreg conclusion. that's all for today, thank you for watching from the whole team, please do join us against same times to see what else is on. you can also follow us on telegram and x. till next time, take care. information about palestine abounds on social

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first. headlines in the gaza strip, at least 86 palestinians are killed on the 152nd day the us israeli genocide. hamasus asserts that any ceasefire agreement must effectively prevent all kinds of israeli crimes against the palestinians and former us president donald trump secures victories across 13 states and republic.