Wikipedia

2016 Iranian Assembly of Experts election

The fifth Iranian Assembly of Experts election were held in Iran on 26 February 2016 to elect the members of the Assembly of Experts. All 88 members[2] of the Assembly of Experts, who are known as mujtahids, are directly elected. The elections had been planned for 2014, but were delayed in order for the election to be held alongside the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections.

2016 Iranian Assembly of Experts election
Iran
← 2006 26 February 2016 2024 →
Turnout60.97%[1]
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
CCA Movahedi 75 66 −3
Seminary Teachers Yazdi 72.7 64 −5
People's Experts Rafsanjani 62.5 55 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Chairman before Chairman after
Mohammad Yazdi
Principlists		 Ahmad Jannati
Principlists

The winning candidates of the elections, sitting until 2024, may have to choose the next Supreme Leader of Iran, or at least plan for it.[3] The current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei (born (1939-04-19) 19 April 1939 (age 85), then aged 76), is reported from time to time to be in poor health.[4] Incumbents were reelected in 49 of the assembly's 88 seats.[5]

Background

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See also: 2006 Iranian Assembly of Experts election

In the previous election, The Two Societies endorsed 81 candidates in a joint statement and were able to win 69 seats out of 86. The reformists did not reach a coalition and lost the election.[6]

Along with the Parliamentary elections, it was the first election since the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement between 5+1 and Iran that saw it curb sensitive nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions against Iran. The deal was opposed by many hardliners but backed by moderates and reformists.[7] Over 30 million Iranians voted in the elections, according to BBC.[8]

According to dw, several polling stations were left open until midnight, in order to enable millions of voters that came late to take part in the elections.[9]

Registration and qualification process

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See also: Elections in Iran and Guardian Council
Candidates Registered and Qualified in the Assembly of Experts election history[10][11][12]
Election date N. C. Registered +/− N. C. Qualified %
1982 168   146 86.90
1990 180   12 100   55.55
1998 396   216 160   40.40
2006 493   280 146   29.61
2016 801   305 166   20.72

For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 801 aspirants registered to run in the elections. The number was a 62.47% increase compared to the previous election held in 2006.[11] Among the candidates there were 16 women, another unprecedented event. There have been no female members in the assembly since its establishment.[13]

On December 31, 2015, the Guardian Council announced that the four-hour Ijtihad test would be held January 5, 2016 in Qom in order to indicate candidates with proper knowledge, specifying that no alternative test date would be offered. The Council invited 527 candidates to take the test, excluding the 152 who reportedly withdrew and 111 who were denied permission (for a total of 790). Of the 16 women who registered, 10 received invitations.[14]

 
The Guardian Council disqualified Hassan Khomeini, grandson of founder of Iran's Islamic Republic a setback in the growing rivalry between reformists and conservatives.[15]

Nearly 80% of candidates who applied for the Assembly were disqualified by the Guardian Council, including every woman and Hassan Khomeini.[16]

Four incumbent members were disqualified:[17]

Other famous disqualified candidates include:[17]

Disqualifications left nine constituencies with only one candidate per seat; in other terms 20% of seats would be won in an uncontested election (i.e. numbers of candidates is as same as numbers of seats).[18] Later the Ministry of the Interior declared that with the Guardian Council's approval, some qualified candidates changed their electoral district to make the election competitive in the destination constituency.[19]

Statistics

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Seats and Candidates qualified before electoral district change
Constituency N. Seats[2] N. C.
Registered[13][20][a] 		N. C.
Qualified[18][21] 		P.
Qualified 		C/S
Tehran province 16 176 36 20.45% 2.25
Razavi Khorasan province 6 47[21] 12 25.53% 2
Khuzestan province 6 24 7 29.16% 1.16
Isfahan province 5 61 16 26.22% 3.2
Fars province 5 29[21] 8 27.58% 1.6
East Azerbaijan province 5 46[22] 6 13.04% 1.2
Gilan province 4 30[22] 6 20% 1.5
Mazandaran province 4 29[21] 8 27.58% 2
West Azerbaijan province 3 34 3 8.82% 1
Kerman province 3 21 5 23.81% 1.66
Ardabil province 2 8[22] 2 25% 1
Alborz province 2 24[21] 6 25% 3
Sistan & Baluchestan Province 2 23 3 13.04% 1.5
Qazvin province 2 13[21] 3 23.13% 1.5
Kurdistan province 2 23[22] 4 17.39% 2
Kermanshah province 2 21[21] 4 19.04% 2
Golestan province 2 16[21] 4 25% 2
Markazi province 2 16[21] 5 31.25% 2.5
Hamedan Province 2 13[22] 3 23.07% 1.5
Luristan province 2 19[22] 3 15.78% 1.5
Ilam province 1 14[21] 2 14.28% 2
Bushehr province 1 5[21] 1 20% 1
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province 1 16 2 12.5% 2
South Khorasan province 1 7 2 28.57% 2
North Khorasan province 1 10 1 10% 1
Zanjan province 1 18[22] 3 16.66% 3
Semnan province 1 7[21] 1 14.28% 1
Qom province 1 20[21] 4 20% 4
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province 1 9 2 22.22% 2
Hormozgan province 1 11[22] 1 9.09% 1
Yazd province 1 11 3 27.27% 3
Total 88 801[13][20][21] 166[21] 20.72% 1.886
Number of candidates registered by academic degree out of 801[13]
University degree Candidates (%)
Ph.D.
103(12.85%)
Master's
95(11.86%)
Bachelor's
49(6.11%)
Associate
4(0.49%)
Diploma
88(10.98%)
No degree (Only seminary education)
462(57.67%)
Number of candidates registered by gender out of 801[13]
Gender Candidates (%)
Male
785(98%)
Female
16(2%)
Number of candidates invited to Ijtihad test out of 801[21]
Status Candidates (%)
Invited, Participated
387(48.31%)
Invited, Not Participated
150(18.72%)
Not Invited
264(32.95%)
Candidates by "Approbation Supervision" status of the Guardian Council out of 801[21]
Status Candidates (%)
"Qualified" (تائید)
166(20.72%)
"Disqualified" (رد)
207(25.84%)
"Unlawful" (غیرمجاز)
118(17.79%)
Withdrew (انصرافی)
158(19.72%)
Absent in test (غیبت آزمون)
150(18.72%)
Unknown
2(0.24%)

Campaign

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Telegram played an important role in the election.[23]

In this election, contrary to the previous ones, The Two Societies did not reach a coalition and issued different lists. The main dispute between the two, was whether they should support Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani candidacy or not. Combatant Clergy Association supported Rafsanjani; the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom did not. There were three major electoral lists in the election:[24]

A British radio is giving instructions to people of Tehran to 'vote for that given person, [and] do not vote for that given person!’... [People] should know what the enemy wants; when you know what the enemy wants, you act contrarily; this is obvious".

— Ali Khamenei, Remarks in meeting with people of East Azarbaijan Province[25]

In a 17 February public speech, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei warns of the subtle influence of foreign agents on the elections, stating that they are implementing new ploys in various ways to falsely polarize the election. He also condemned BBC Persian's programs on the elections and said that people will act differently from what they want.[26]

Hardliners attacked Rafsanjani's list by calling it "The British list" (Persian: فهرست انگلیسی), implying that it is supported by the United Kingdom.[7]

Ahmad Khatami, the interim Friday prayer imam of Tehran spoke out in the Friday prayer: "British and foreign media outlets are asking our people not to vote for Jannati, Yazdi, Mesbah, Alamolhoda and I. This is none of your business; you nosy people should know that these five are the top choices of our people".[27]

 
People waiting to cast their votes in Hosseiniyeh Ershad, Tehran

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani dismissed the charges and said "Such interpretations regarding British list (of candidates) is an insult to Iranian peoples's wisdom", in a meeting with the reformist and moderate candidates. He also deplored that 500 knowledgeable theologians and seminarians as well as university instructors were disqualified for the elections.[28] "They [the hard-liners] presently have no excuse to rage against us and insult us. Thus, they [the hard-liners] attribute phrases like 'inside man' and 'British' to the old revolutionaries... These figures have been defeated by the people and are now seeking to exact [their] revenge on the administration and President Rouhani", he added.[27]

Despite the restrictions, reformists became well-organised to seek gains.[29] The reformists who were barred from public presence as a result of 2009 protests, tried to keep the flame alive online. The instant messaging service Telegram played an important role in the campaigning period. More than 20 million Iranians are reported to be on the messaging app. Mohammad Khatami, who is facing restrictions on activities and Iranian media (including State Television and Radio) are banned from mentioning his name or publishing the images him, released a video message online urging people to vote for “The List of Hope”, creating a huge momentum —The coalition of reformists and moderates, endorsed Rafsanjani's “People's Experts”.[29][30] Khatami's message was viewed more than 3 million times on Telegram in one day. Another poster shared on the app was viewed by a million people in 12 hours.[30]

Dear people of Iran, the country needs your vote, Let's decide on a hopeful future for Iran on Friday.

— Hassan Rouhani, Text message sent to almost every cell phone in Iran[23]

Two days before the election, President Hassan Rouhani took to text message almost every cell phone to drum up support in Friday's elections, tacitly endorsing the moderate list of hope.[23]

Results

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Main article: Results of the 2016 Iranian Assembly of Experts election

Summary

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Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi (left) and Mohammad Yazdi (right) lost their seats.

According to the Associated Press, moderate clerics defeated hardliners and dominated the assembly with Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Rouhani, alongside 50 of their allies, securing 59% of the seats.[31] The moderates previously held around 20 seats in the assembly.[32]

In Tehran province, Rafsanjani's People's Experts list received a landslide victory, winning 15 of 16 seats,[33] and were successful in establishing its "tactical/disapproval voting strategy",[34] causing Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi and Mohammad Yazdi to lose their seats. Considering the latter was Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the voters also changed the officeholder. However, Ahmad Jannati placed 16th and got reelected.[7]

Compared to the previous term, 38% of the assembly has changed. Among the outgoing members, nine were deceased (among them Ali Meshkini and Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani), 13 did not compete in the election (four incumbents were disqualified,[17] like Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi and 9 did not seek reelection, most notably Abbas Vaez Tabasi) and 10 were not elected.[35]

According to a report published by the Iranian Students' News Agency, 27 seats went to Principlists while Reformists won 20 seats. 35 candidates were endorsed by both. Independent clerics who were not listed managed to win 6 seats.[36]

Support (Seats) Percentage
Reformist/Principlist support (35)
 
 39.77%
Principlists support only (27)
 
 30.68%
Reformists support only (20)
 
 22.72%
Independents (6)
 
 6.81%
Distribution of seats by political camp support[36]

A statistical work on electoral lists by Khabaronline shows that The Two Societies have gained plurality. 27 seats were endorsed by all People's Experts, List of Hope, Combatant Clergy Association and Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom lists. Combatant Clergy Association and Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom won five and three exclusive seats respectively, while their joint lists won 24 seats. People's Experts won 19 exclusive seats.[33]

Lists winning exclusive seats (Source: Khabaronline)[33]
List Seats Won
Exclusive Shared Total
People's Experts/Hope 19 27
46 / 88 (52%)
Combatant Clergy Association 5 51
56 / 88 (64%)
Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom 3 51
54 / 88 (61%)

Another piece published by Khabaronline, indicates that Combatant Clergy Association leads the race winning 66 seats and Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom and People's Experts have won 64 and 55 seats respectively. People's Experts has 16 exclusive winning candidates, the number is 3 for Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom while Combatant Clergy Association has no exclusive seat. The Two Societies have 25 shared seats and 35 candidates are endorsed by all three lists. At last, only four members of the assembly would be independent.[37]

List (Seats won) Percentage
Combatant Clergy Association (66)
 
 75%
Society of Seminary Teachers (64)
 
 72.72%
People's Experts (55)
 
 62.50%
Independents (4)
 
 4.50%
Distribution of seats by electoral list[37]
List (Seats won) Percentage
CCA/SST/PE joint support (35)
 
 39.77%
CCA/SST joint support (25)
 
 28.4%
PE exclusive support (19)
 
 18.18%
CCA/PE joint support (5)
 
 5.68%
No list support (4)
 
 4.50%
SST exclusive support (3)
 
 3.4%
CCA exclusive support (0)
 
 0%
Distribution of seats by electoral list support status[37]

Turnout

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Turnout was officially declared 62%. The official results were disputed by BBC Persian columnist.[38]

Source: Ministry of Interior
Constituency Registered Voters[39] Turnout[40]
East Azerbaijan province 2,909,208 62%
West Azerbaijan province 2,296,591 65.5%
Ardabil province 998,499 61.5%
Isfahan province 3,445,298 61%
Alborz province 1,480,131 54%
Ilam province 434,636 75%
Bushehr province 691,406 76%
Tehran province 8,475,077 50%
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province 702,623 75%
South Khorasan province 598,205 72%
North Khorasan province 624,300 71%
Razavi Khorasan province 4,420,718 68%
Khuzestan province 3,477,959 70%
Zanjan province 775,820 67%
Semnan province 494,712 60%
Sistan and Baluchestan province 1,685,760 66.14%
Fars province 3,374,243 63.6%
Qazvin province 887,164 61%
Qom province 768,730 60%
Kurdistan province 1,161,537 53.3%
Kerman province 2,083,878 63%
Kermanshah province 1,507,595 60%
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province 518,811 80%
Golestan province 1,288,536 81%
Gilan province 1,861,370 65%
Luristan province 1,409,036
Mazandaran province 2,235,636 61%
Markazi province 1,047,670 60.4%
Hormozgan province 1,119,093 67%
Hamedan province 1,505,279 58.1%
Yazd province 665,504 64.5%
Total 54,915,024 62%

Reactions/Analysis

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  • Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei said that "the people really shone brightly in the elections and participation of 62% of the qualified people in the election is a high percentage compared to many countries even the U.S". The Leader said the next Assembly of Experts is duty bound to "remain revolutionary, think revolutionary and act revolutionary". He also praised the "decent behavior" of the candidates who failed to win the votes and noted a failure by Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi and Mohammad Yazdi to win seats in the Assembly of Experts was a "damage" to the Assembly.[41]
  • Farzan Sabet of the Carnegie Endowment saw "four important trends":[42]
    • the continuing unity of the moderate alliance,
    • disunity in the conservative alliance between the hardliners and the traditionalists,
    • voter engagement with the electoral process, and
    • the use of alternative media to overcome the state's media monopoly during campaigns.[42]
  • There were anomalies in the reported results from the Interior Ministry of Iran, an example being some candidates receiving more than 120% of the votes cast in their district, and 22 million ballots cast in four provinces with a total population of 15 million.[5]

Aftermath

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Electing new chairman

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On 24 May 2016, the Assembly held its new session to elect the chairman. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani did not put his name[43] and allegedly asked Ebrahim Amini to step forward for the office.[44] The results of the voting were as follows:[45]

Candidate Votes
Ahmad Jannati
51 / 88 (58%)
Ebrahim Amini
21 / 88 (24%)
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
13 / 88 (15%)
Blank or Invalid votes
1 / 88
Absent voters
2 / 88

The appointment of Ahmad Jannati signaled that despite recent gains by moderates, hard-liners remain the dominant force within the assembly.[43]

By-election

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Notes

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  1. ^ Exact number of total candidates is 801. Provincial details may be inaccurate.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2016 Assembly of Experts Election | Iran Data Portal".
  2. ^ a b "تعداد نمایندگان مجلس خبرگان رهبری افزایش یافت" (in Persian). Iranian Students' News Agency. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  3. ^ Behdad Bordbar (15 July 2015), "Who will be Iran's next supreme leader?", Al-Monitor, archived from the original on 22 January 2016, retrieved 30 December 2015
  4. ^ "The Myth of a Meaningful Vote in Iran What Friday's elections will accomplish—and what they won't". The Atlantic. 23 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b Schmidt, Patrick (22 March 2016). "Policy Analysis Policy. Watch 2592 Anomalies in Iran's Assembly of Experts Election". Washington Institute. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  6. ^ "تاثیر حمایت جامعه مدرسین در رای آوری نامزدهای خبرگان/کدام اعضای کنونی نامزد جامعه مدرسین نبودند؟". Khabaronline (in Persian). 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Iran elections: Reformists make gains in Assembly of Experts". BBC. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Iran elections: Reformists make gains in Assembly of Experts". BBC News. 29 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Iran elections: moderates win most votes for Assembly of Experts race". Deutsche Welle.
  10. ^ "مقایسه تایید و رد نامزدهای خبرگان در پنج دوره انتخابات گذشته" (in Persian). Khabaonline. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  11. ^ a b "خبرگزاری فارس – افزایش 62 درصدی داوطلبان نمایندگی مجلس خبرگان دوره پنجم/ 6 کمیسیون مجلس خبرگان رهبری چه کارکردی دارند" (in Persian). Fars News Agency. 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  12. ^ "مجلس خبرگان رهبری در گذر از دوره اول به دوم" (in Persian). Fars News Agency. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d e "اسامی داوطلبان عضویت در مجلس خبرگان + جدول تفکیک استانی" (in Persian). jamejamonline.ir. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  14. ^ Patrick Schmidt (17 February 2016). "Understanding Iran's Assembly of Experts Vote". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  15. ^ Bozorgmehr Sharafedin (10 February 2016). Sam Wilkin and Ralph Boulton (ed.). "Khomeini grandson loses appeal to stand in Iranian election". Reuters. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Elections in Iran: The great candidate cull: Choose any candidate you like—after the mullahs have excluded reformers". The Economist. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  17. ^ a b c "نامزدهای حذف شده از انتخابات خبرگان؛ از صدیقی و حسن خمینی تا امجد و پورمحمدی". Donya-e-Eqtesad (in Persian). 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  18. ^ a b "فشرده‌ترین رقابت در اصفهان و قم؛ 9 داوطلب در آستانه ورود به مجلس خبرگان + جدول بررسی شانس نامزدها" (in Persian). Iranian Labour News Agency. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  19. ^ "تغییر حوزه انتخابیه برخی نامزدهای مجلس خبرگان" (in Persian). Iranian Labour News Agency. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  20. ^ a b "پرونده داوطلبان خبرگان رهبری با نام نویسی 801نفر بسته شد" (in Persian). Islamic Republic News Agency. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Marjan Towhidi (27 September 2016), ١٦٦ نامزد براي ٨٨ كرسي (in Persian), Shargh, p. 1
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h "آخرین اخبار از ثبت‌نام کاندیداهای مجالس خبرگان رهبری و شورای اسلامی در استان‌ها" (in Persian). Iranian Students' News Agency. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  23. ^ a b c Christopher Miller (26 February 2016). "Messaging app Telegram is shaking up Iran's elections". Mashable. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  24. ^ "پیام‌های لیست هاشمی برای مجلس خبرگان". Donya-e-Eqtesad (in Persian). 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Leader's Remarks in Meeting with People of East Azarbaijan Province". Leader.ir. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  26. ^ Arash Karimi (24 February 2016). "Khamenei warns of subtle US influence on elections". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  27. ^ a b "Is BBC Persian meddling in Iranian elections?". Al-Monitor. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  28. ^ "Ayatollah Rafsanjani dismisses charges of British list of candidates". Islamic Republic News Agency. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  29. ^ a b Saeed Kamali Dehghan (23 February 2016). "Election day arrives in Iran with reformists well organised to seek gains". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  30. ^ a b Bozorgmehr Sharafedin (23 February 2016). Sonya Hepinstall (ed.). "Barred from streets, Iran's reformists push for votes online". Reuters. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  31. ^ Akbar Dareini, Ali (29 February 2016). "In blow to Iran hard-liners, moderates win clerical assembly". Business Insider. Associated Press. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  32. ^ "Moderates dominate council of clerics in Iran elections". Al Jazeera. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  33. ^ a b c "ترکیب مجلس خبرگان کامل شد/موفقیت جامعتین درسراسر کشور/ورودیک غیرروحانی و6نماینده بارای بیش از2میلیون". Khabar Online (in Persian). 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  34. ^ Ammar Maleki (29 February 2016). "نتایج تأملاتی درباره مشارکت سلبی در انتخابات خبرگان" (in Persian). BBC Persian. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  35. ^ "روحانیون جامانده از خبرگان پنجم". Iranian Students' News Agency (in Persian). 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  36. ^ a b "نتایج انتخابات "خبرگان" + جدول گرایش‌ها". Iranian Students' News Agency (in Persian). 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  37. ^ a b c "طیف بندی‌های خبرگان پنجم را بشناسید/ 3 منتخب اختصاصی جامعه مدرسین و 16 منتخب اختصاصی خبرگان مردم". Khabaronline (in Persian). 1 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  38. ^ Ammar Maleki (12 March 2016). "آیا آمار مشارکت اعلام شده برای انتخابات ایران دقیق است؟" (in Persian). BBC Persian. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  39. ^ "مقیمی: 54 میلیون و 915 هزار نفر واجد شرایط رای دادن هستند" (in Persian). Islamic Republic News Agency. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  40. ^ "آمار مشارکت مردم در انتخابات به تفکیک هر استان" (in Persian). Entekhab. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  41. ^ "People 'shone brightly' in elections: Leader". Tehran Times. 12 March 2016. TTime-253696. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  42. ^ a b SABET, FARZAN (9 June 2016). "Iran's 2016 Elections: Change or Continuity?". carnegie endowment. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  43. ^ a b "Hard-line cleric becomes speaker of Assembly of Expert". Associated Press. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  44. ^ Rohollah Faghihi (30 March 2016). "Who will be the next chair of Iran's Assembly of Experts?". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  45. ^ "Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati elected to head Iran's Assembly of Experts". Agence France-Presse. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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