There are “serious concerns” about how the Iranian government vetted the candidates for recent parliamentary elections, a U.N. rights official said. Supporters of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gained the upper hand in March 4 parliamentary elections, the first election since the divisive 2009 presidential contest. Khamenei had said Iran would be governed better by a parliamentary system.
Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. special envoy for human rights in Iran, told members of the U.N. Human Rights Council he had concerns about elections. Shaheed said turnout was reported at around 64 percent for the elections. International monitors weren’t invited to observe the polls, though he said an estimated 850,000 observers did monitor the polls inside the country.
Full Article: U.N. questions Iranian elections – UPI.com.