Iran’s Guardian Council rejects plan for electronic voting

Iran’s Guardian Council has rejected a plan for electronic voting ahead of the February elections for the parliament and the Assembly of Experts.

Nejatollah Ebrahimian, a jurist sitting at the Guardian Council, said on Wednesday that the plan for e-voting, proposed by Iran’s Interior Ministry, faced legal issues which prevented the procedure to go ahead.

Ebrahimian said the proposal by the Interior Ministry was based upon a bylaw which does not have the force of a law. He also said authorities expected to ensure the security of the proposed e-voting procedure have not endorsed the plan.

Iran was expected to usher in its first e-voting during the nationwide polls on February 26, when voting takes place for the country’s 290-seat Majlis (parliament) as well as the 88-seat Assembly of Experts.

The Iranian Interior Ministry in November unveiled machines which they said could replace the normal ballot boxes.

The top electoral and and constitutional oversight body, comprising six top clerics and six jurists, had previously said it has no problem with the hardware intended for e-voting, emphasizing, however, that the software and related applications should gain the required guarantees.

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