E-Voting Decision in Two Weeks

A member of the Guardians Council's central oversight board for the May 19 presidential elections said the result of discussions on a proposal for e-voting in the poll will be announced in two weeks. Siamak Rahpeyk made the statement on Saturday, after a meeting between the oversight board and Interior Ministry's Election Headquarters on replacing ballot boxes with voting machines, IRNA reported. The Interior Ministry is in charge of conducting elections and the Guardians Council is tasked with vetting the candidates and overseeing all polls, except the city council that is overseen by a special board of Majlis lawmakers. The next city council votes will be held concurrent with presidential elections in May. Security concerns prevented e-voting in last year's Majlis polls, which were held in two rounds in February and April. The Majlis board has announced that for the city council polls, there will be e-voting in one-sixth of polling stations across the country, numbering about 11,000, to cover one-third of the eligible voters.