TEHRAN - The intelligence minister announced on Wednesday that there is no security concern over the Friday parliamentary elections as the entire relevant bodies have done their best to prevent any possible mishap. 

“The entire bodies, involved in restoring security to the elections, have kept it via complete intelligence-security supremacy,” Mahmoud Alawi said after a session of the cabinet of ministers.

He further said that the intelligence and security forces will continue their mission till the end of elections. 

Also on Wednesday, Tehran Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said around 14,000 police forces protect the security of 4,552 polling stations in the metropolis.

The nationwide votes for the parliament and the midterm election of the Assembly of Experts will be held simultaneously on February 21.

The campaigns for the Assembly of Experts election had already begun on February 6.

A total of 7,148 candidates, including from religious minorities, are running for the parliament. There are 290 seats in the parliament up for grabs.

In capital Tehran, 1,453 candidates are contesting for 30 parliamentary seats.

The lawmakers are elected for a 4-year term, with no limitation for the incumbent or former parliamentarians to run again.

Also people in five provinces - North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Fars, Tehran and Qom - are going to vote for candidates vying for seven vacant seats in the 88-member Assembly of Experts, a high-ranking body that is constitutionally tasked to elect and monitor leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Members of the assembly are directly elected to office by people for an eight-year term.

MJ/PA