A spokesman for the Guardian Council says participation in the ninth parliamentary elections has gone up by at least eight or nine percent compared to the last parliamentary elections.
Ali Akbar Kadkhodayi said today at a press conference: “The turnout is larger than in the eighth parliamentary election.”
Opposition groups, however, give a different picture of the elections process.
The Kaleme opposition website writes that “independent reporters” have informed it of a low turnout at the polls, based on their observations from across Tehran.
The Fars news agency published the results of a survey showing the average participation rate across the country will increase to 65.5 percent.
The claims of an increase in voter turnout come amid calls for a widespread election boycott by opposition groups and reformists.
The Coordination Council for the Green Path of Hope has sent out a call for people to stay home on election day as an expression of support for MirHosein Mousavi , Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi, the opposition leaders who have been held under house arrest for more than a year.
