New Parliament Set to Open

The new Iranian Parliament will officially open on Wednesday during a ceremony attended by 276 elected lawmakers and President Hassan Rouhani. 
Based on the agenda, the president will address the new members of parliament before they take the oath of office, IRNA reported.   
The new lawmakers, elected in February, are taking their seats in the Majlis a week after the 10th Iranian Parliament officially ended its four-year term. 
The present parliament is dominated by principlists while the previous legislature was chiefly composed of pro-reform figures. 
Although more closely allied with reformists, Rouhani has announced that his administration will work with the new Majlis within the framework of the constitution.  
This year's ceremony is held with fewer attendants due to the spread of the coronavirus disease, Covid-19, according to Gholamreza Nouri, the Majlis executive deputy.
"In previous rounds, the ceremony was attended by members of the Cabinet, military and administrative officials, governors general and religious scholars, but health protocols have restricted our invitations of usual guests this year," he said. 
“Arrangements have been made for the new lawmakers to test for Covid-19 before attending the ceremony,” Nouri said, adding that no positive cases have been reported so far. 
The ceremony will follow the usual parliamentary procedure, except that the lawmakers' visit to the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, after inauguration has been canceled, as the shrine has been closed since past few weeks. 
"This plan has been postponed to another appropriate time and the elected representatives will instead visit the graves of unknown martyrs in Majlis grounds and renew allegiance with the ideals of the late Imam and the glorious martyrs," Nouri said. 
Before the presidential speech, the interim presiding board will take their seat.  It is made up of the oldest and youngest members of the parliament and will preside over Majlis sessions and the inaugural ceremony until the permanent board is elected. 
Reza Taqavi and Mostafa Mirsalim will serve as interim speaker and deputy speaker of the new parliament while Rouhollah Nejabat and Mohsen Fathi will temporarily serve as first and second secretaries. 
The permanent board will be elected in the second session of the new Majlis. The representatives will vote to decide whether or not to hold the second session on Thursday, according to Nouri.