Hoopla over minor Iranian election may herald big fallout in 2020
A normally negligible local election in the Iranian capital has brought the country’s political groups face to face, revealing that bigger clashes may be ahead as Iran’s 11th parliamentary elections draw near.
Some Iranian politicians are reading a lot into a recent election, one that in the past has barely registered notice in the public eye.
For the past four terms, elections to choose assistants for the Islamic City Council of Tehran were low-key and inconsequential. But the fifth election, held July 26, led to a showdown between Iran’s political groups — perhaps foreshadowing what's to come in February’s parliamentary elections.
The assistants elections aren’t officially recognized by Iran’s Interior Ministry. Some national government entities, such as the General Inspection Office, even consider them illegitimate.
Islamic City Council assistants have an advisory role with no executive or decision-making power in Tehran’s districts. There are some 4,500 members in about 350 constituencies, which itself indicates how trivial the roles are. Not many Tehran residents were even aware of the council assistants election during its past four terms, and Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi acknowledged July 26 that he had never participated.
