Iran: Two Voting Stations Close Over ‘Extremist Chanting’
Chants in support of ending the house arrest of opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi have led to the temporary closure of two polling stations in Tehran.
The Fars News Agency, a media outlet linked to the Revolutionary Guards, reported on Friday February 26 that the Hoseinieh Ershad polling station was briefly shut down “due to extremist chants in support of the heads of sedition”.
The conservative factions of the Islamic Republic refer to the election protests of 2009 as ”sedition” and call the candidates who challenged the election results “the heads of sedition”.
Fars reports: “The organizers of the polling station closed the doors of the station for a short while to avoid any conflict.”
The report adds that conservative MPs Mehdi Kuchkzadh and Kazem Jalali, who had arrived to vote, were not able to do so, and some of the people at the location got into a verbal argument with Kochakzadeh.
The report indicates that at the Hoseinieh Jamaran station there were also chants in support of Mousavi and Karroubi as well as former president and top reformist figure Mohammad Khatami.
MirHosein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest since February 2011.
Iranians are voting today for parliamentary and Assembly of Experts representatives. Mehdi Karroubi has demanded to be provided with a ballot box to be able to cast his vote.
