Iranian media report that former president Mohammad Khatami, a chief reformist figure, cast a vote in the ninth parliamentary elections.
The Mehr News Agency was the first media outlet to report that Khatami had shown up at a voting station. It wrote that he was seen at 1:50 PM at a polling station in Damavand.
Fars later reported that Khatami, accompanied by his brother, cast a ballot in the ninth parliamentary elections.
Later, ILNA and ISNA confirmed the news.
Khatami had previously announced that reformists could take part in the elections only if political prisoners were released, including the opposition leaders who’ve been held under house arrest for more than a year.
Khatami had also stipulated the need for open and unfettered political activity.
The parliamentary elections were boycotted by major reformist groups, including the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Mujahedin of the Islamic Revolution, as well as by nationalist-religious groups and the Freedom Movement.
Reformist media outlets have not yet confirmed Khatami’s presence at the voting station.
The Jaras opposition website had written today that: “Reformists did not participate in the elections,” adding that a group of prominent reformist activists did not vote. Mohammad Khatami, Abdollah Nouri, Mohammad Mousavi Khoveiniha, Gholamhossein Karbaschi and a number of other reformists were listed by Jaras as non-participants.
