Iranian parliament vote, first since 2022 mass protests, sees a low turnout despite government push

By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has held its first parliamentary election since mass 2022 protests over mandatory hijab laws after the death of Mahsa Amini, apparently drawing a low turnout amid calls for a boycott. It wasn’t immediately clear if voter apathy or an active desire to send a message to Iran’s theocracy depressed the number of voters coming to polling stations Friday across the Islamic Republic. While state-controlled television broadcast images of lines of voters, others across the capital of Tehran saw largely empty polling stations. Some, including imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, urged a boycott of a vote they derided as a “sham.”