TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Thursday that the people “shone brightly” in the elections by their massive participation in the elections and now it is the officials’ turn to fulfill their duties.

“The people really shone brightly in the elections and participation of 62 percent of the qualified people in the election is a high percentage compared to many countries even the U.S.,” the Leader told the Assembly of Experts members who held their last meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Majlis (parliamentary) and Assembly of Experts elections were held simultaneously on February 26. Majlis MPs are elected for four years but assembly members for eight years.

The Assembly of Experts is constitutionally tasked to monitor and elect leader.

The Leader said the next Assembly of Experts is duty bound to “remain revolutionary, think revolutionary and act revolutionary”.

He described the way to elect the future leader as the most “fundamental” duty of the Assembly of Experts.

The big turnout at the elections proves that the people trust the system, Ayatollah Khamenei remarked.

Pointing to the “competitive” nature of the elections in Iran, he said that the February elections were “competitive” as various political factions contested the polls.

And the elections were held in a “secure and peaceful atmosphere”, the Leader boasted.

The Leader said that the elections once again discredited the claims of vote rigging in the 2009 presidential election.

He also praised the “decent behavior” of the candidates who failed to win the votes. However, he noted a failure by Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi and Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi to win seats in the Assembly of Experts was a “blow” to the Assembly.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader said that undermining the Guardian Council is “non-Islamic, illegal, illegitimate and non-revolutionary”.

The Leader also said the officials should prioritize “resistance economy”, “continuation of the fast scientific movement” and guard the country against “cultural” invasion.

These three priorities will result in national development if the officials put them on their agenda, he explained.

Elsewhere, the Leader said that the U.S. and the arrogant powers seek to infiltrate into Iran.

He added Iran should interact with the world except the U.S. and the Zionist regime of Israel.


NA/PA