Iran elections a 'sham between officials in charge of torture and execution', says exiled leader

Head of the National Council for Resistance of Iran said most young people had boycotted the polls

Exiled leader of the NCRI, Maryam Rajavi (NCRI)

The Iranian elections are ‘a sham’, the exiled leader of the resistance Maryam Rajavi has said.

Speaking in Paris on Saturday, Mrs Rajavi said the majority of young people in Iran had boycotted the elections.

She said: “On 26 February, the mullahs held a sham election. The so-called election did not mean to elect the people's representatives, but it was a competition between the incumbent and former officials in charge of torture and executions.

“This puts an end to the myth of moderation in this regime. Therefore this sham election was rejected and boycotted by most of the Iranian youth.”

Of the 12,123 candidates who were nominated as potential candidates, almost half were cut by the Guardian Council, with 6,300 of them – including 586 women – allowed to stand for election for the Majlis and 166 candidates, all male, put forward for the Assembly of Experts.

Initial reports from the Islamic Republic’s Majlis elections suggest that candidates in favour of President Hassan Rouhani have won the majority of seats in Tehran, while Iranian state media reported a record turnout in the country’s first elections since the nuclear deal.

Thanking those who voted in the elections, president Rouhani told the Islamic Republic News Agency: “The competition came to an end and now it is time to open a new way through consensus and convergence of the nation and government and by relying on opportunities created from outside, to open a new chapter in the growth and flourishing of national economy.”

Final results from both elections are expected early in the coming week, with any possible re-runs for the Majlis election to take place in April.