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Iran announces 6th Assembly of Experts composition following election results

The Assembly of Experts is an Iranian state body that is composed of 88 authoritative theologians

DUBAI, March 4. /TASS/. Iran's Election Office has announced the final composition of the 6th convocation of the republic's Assembly of Experts following the results of the elections, Iran's Mehr news agency reported.

According to the agency, the names of 88 members of the new convocation of the council were revealed after the counting of votes was completed in all country's provinces. The largest number of votes was reportedly received by Shiite theologians Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini (more than 990,000), Mohsen Qomi (over 888,100) and Alireza Arafi (over 888,600).

The Assembly of Experts is an Iranian state body that is composed of 88 authoritative theologians. Its main function is to elect the country’s head and spiritual leader. It is also responsible for drafting amendments to the constitution and deciding on the resignation of Iran’s leader in those cases stipulated by the constitution.

Elections to the Assembly of Experts and Majlis (unicameral parliament) of Iran kicked off on March 1 at 8:00 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. GMT), voting continued until 12:00 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. GMT). The IRNA news agency reported, citing the Election Office, that the turnout in the elections reached about 41%.

In February, Mehr reported that the nomination of former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was not approved by the Guardian Council (a supra-parliamentary body composed of members of the clergy). The reasons for the candidate's ineligibility were never reported for legal and ethical grounds.

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