Interior Ministry: Over 260,000 Personnel to Secure Upcoming Presidential Election
Iran’s interior ministry security deputy says “more than 260,000 people” will be responsible for securing the upcoming presidential election, and the necessary “auxiliary forces” have been provided through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Hossein Zolfaghari, the security and law enforcement deputy of Iran’s interior ministry, stated on the evening of April 10 that “all military, intelligence, law enforcement, judicial institutions and state media” are present in the election security headquarters.
According to this government official, “security and law enforcement plans have been prepared especially by the law enforcement force,” while “based on reviews conducted at the election security headquarters, the auxiliary forces that were needed to assist law enforcement in securing polling stations have been provided by the armed forces command through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
The total number of eligible voters in next week’s election is estimated at 55 million people, with approximately 63,500 polling stations. In the 2013 presidential election, the number of personnel involved in election security was reported at 300,000. For example, securing the recent French presidential election involved 50,000 police officers, while France currently has 47 million eligible voters. Afghanistan’s 2014 presidential election was conducted with the presence of 400,000 army and police forces.
Mr. Zolfaghari emphasized in his remarks that so far there has been no “particular incident that would disrupt election security.” He also stated that as the election date approaches, “we will see enhanced security from the borders into the country.” According to this interior ministry official, Iran’s judiciary is expected to appoint a special judge to ensure that establishing checkpoints by “Revolutionary Guard, Basij, and law enforcement forces does not create legal issues.”
Mr. Zolfaghari stated that the election security process will be “strengthened” starting next week.
The twelfth round of Iran’s presidential election will be held on April 29.
Iran’s interior ministry security deputy said in another part of his press conference that cyberspace “is monitored daily” and “predictions” have been made regarding “certain currents and groups that may have plans.”
He provided no further explanation about these “specific currents and groups.”
Earlier in April, one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders stated regarding the presidential election that “cyberspace is completely monitored.” Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iran’s chief prosecutor, recently said “the enemy wants to question the election through cyberspace and is spreading false information.”
Iranian officials have repeatedly warned about what they describe as “activities” in cyberspace or media and the “dangers” they pose to Iran’s national security. Over recent years, these “warnings” have typically increased as election dates approach.
On the other hand, Iran has been at the top of the list of internet “censors” in the world for years, and civil liberties organizations have repeatedly criticized cyberspace filtering in the country. Iran is also among countries described as having the “world’s largest” prison for journalists.
Source: Radio Farda
