TEHRAN — Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), has called for a high turnout in the Friday parliamentary polls, saying the country cannot remain powerful without a strong parliament.

“A strong Iran without a strong parliament is an unachievable dream,” said Shamkhani in a tweet on Wednesday.

“In a religious democracy, political participation is the only way to form a strong parliament,” he said.

He added that any Iranian who wants a “strong Iran” should participate in the polls.

The parliamentary elections, the 11th of its kind since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, will be held on Friday in over 200 constituencies across the country’s 31 provinces.

57,918,000 Iranians are entitled to vote in the Friday elections. A little more than 29 million voters are men and 28,800,000 are women. 

2,900,000 Iranians are potential first-time voters. 

The eligible age in Iran to vote has been 18 since January 2007.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, said on Tuesday that if more people vote in the elections the next parliament will be “stronger”.

“The more people attend ballot boxes, Majlis will be stronger,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with a large number of people from East Azarbaijan province to mark the anniversary of Tabrizers’ uprising against the Pahlavi regime on February 18, 1978.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Iran has set the bedrock for democracy and elections in the West Asia region.

MH/PA