Local elections were held in
Iran on 19 May 2017 to elect members of the
City and Village Councils simultaneously with the
twelfth presidential election.
Registration
A total number of 287,425 candidates registered in the elections nationwide, including 17,885 women (6.3%). Share of female candidates shows a slight increase in comparison to 2013 elections, when they made up just 5.4%.
Results
Provincial capitals
''KhabarOnline'' reported the results for ten major city councils as follows:
-controlled newspaper ''
Iran''
and allegedly
Revolutionary Guards-affiliated
Tasnim News Agency published detailed reports on the results, with the number of seats won by each bloc as following:
See also
List of results of 2017 Iranian local elections based on provinces for more detailed results.
Highlights
During the elections, a 60-year-old bird seller was placed first in
Khorram Abad, campaigning with walking the streets introducing himself to people. In
Rasht, a teacher who was sacked after the 1979 Iranian Revolution as well as a street sweeper were elected.
Post-election controversy over non-Muslim councillors
There has been a controversy around the reelection of
Sepanta Niknam
Sepanta Niknam ( fa, سپنتا نیکنام) is an Iranian politician who serves as a councillor in Yazd since 2013. He is the first and only Zoroastrian to have served as councillor in the city, and the only non-Muslim in the city councils of I ...
, a
Zoroastrian municipal councillor in
Yazd, as there was no clear legislation on the matter. "On April 15, about one month before Iran’s local and presidential elections",
Ahmad Jannati, head of the
Guardian Council
The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...
, had "issued a directive demanding that non-Muslims be disqualified from running in the then-upcoming city and village council elections in localities where most of the population are Muslims". On November 26, 2017, Iranian lawmakers approved the urgency of a bill that would give the right for members of the religious minorities to nominate candidates for the city and village councils elections. The bill secured 154 yes votes, 23 no and 10 abstention. A total of 204 lawmakers were present at the parliament session.
[ IRNA,]
Iranian parliament debating bill on religious minorities
, ''The Iran Projet'', 29 November 2017
References
{{Iranian elections
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
local elections
May 2017 events in Iran