Iran reports lowest voter turnout since 1979February 24, 2020 - 15:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's interior minister has announced that the voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections was about 42%, the lowest since the 1979 revolution, Al Jazeera reports. It was the first time turnout dipped below the 50% mark since the revolution as the country's top leader said its enemies played up the threat of the new coronavirus to dissuade people from voting. "The turnout across the country was 42.57%," Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told a televised news conference on Sunday. "In [the capital] Tehran, it was around 25%. Across Iran, over 24 million people voted." Fazli said the election took place under less-than-ideal circumstances, but nevertheless, "we believe that the number of votes and the turnout is absolutely acceptable". In the 2016 polls, the turnout was 62%, while four years earlier, it was 66%. The 2020 figure will be a disappointment for the country's political leadership, which had called for a turnout of at least 55 to 60% in the run-up to the elections. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. |