TEHRAN- Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has emphasized the necessity of teamwork to organize enthusiastic and passionate parliamentary elections in late winter.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with the jurists and jurisconsults of the Constitutional Council in Tehran tasked with vetting the candidates and monitoring the elections.

Expressing gratitude for the council’s work, the Leader also stressed certain important legal responsibilities of the Constitutional Council, saying, “It is everyone’s responsibility to create the conditions necessary for holding spirited elections in the month of Esfand (March) this year.”

290 seats are for grabs in the parliamentary elections. Parliamentarians are elected by direct vote in a national election for a four-year term.

The parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections will be held simultaneously on March 1, 2024.

On Saturday, President Ebrahim Raisi officially announced that he will run for a seat at the Assembly of Experts.

Raisi’s candidacy was announced by cleric Eslam Babaei, who appeared at the election’s office of the Interior Ministry on behalf of Raisi. 

Raisi is currently a member of the Assembly of Experts representing South Khorasan Province. He is running for the next Assembly of Experts from the same constituency. 

According to the latest statistics announced by Mohsen Eslami, the spokesperson of the election headquarters, so far 287 applicants have announced their bids for this round of the Assembly of Experts elections.

61% of the candidates have a history of announcing bids in previous elections and 39% have registered for the first time in the elections of the Assembly of Experts.

The Assembly of Experts is a high-ranking body that elects and supervises the activities of the Islamic Revolution’s Leader.

Members of the body are elected for an 8-year tenure and must be highly qualified in terms of knowledge of religion. The oversight body is comprised of 88 members, all are mujtahids. Candidates should pass an exam before qualifying for the elections.