Iranian Social Media Comedian to Run for Parliament

The Islamic Republic's Guardian Council has qualified social media comedian Iraj Maleki to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. 

Maleki, who rose to prominence through his short films addressing "social harms," seeks to represent the western province of Kermanshah in the chamber.

KhabarOnline news website said Maleki had fulfilled all legal prerequisites, including educational qualifications. 

The announcement drew many reactions on social media, with journalist Ehsan Bodaghi saying: "Maleki is equally qualified as his competitors!"

Another journalist, Yaghma Fashkhami, expressed astonishment upon discovering Maleki's name on the list of vetted candidates. 

لیست نامزدهای استان کرمانشاه رو چک کردم اسم #ایرج_ملکی بود. این جماعت پارسال زلنسکی را مسخره می‌کردند و تیتر می‌زدند: یک سلبریتی دلقک رئیس‌جمهور اوکراین است. امیدوارم تیر آقای ملکی ۱۱ اسفند به هدف بخوره. pic.twitter.com/dhUVX96UUm

— yaghmafashkhami II (@yaghma_fashkham) February 22, 2024

"This group mocked [Volodymyr] Zelensky, labeling him as a clown celebrity serving as Ukraine's president. I am hopeful that Mr. Maleki's shot will hit the target on March 1."

Voters are due to cast their ballots that day to pick new members of the 290-seat legislature among 15,200 candidates who have been approved by the hardline Guardian Council.

That’s more than twice the number of candidates allowed to compete in 2020 for a four-year term in the chamber, when voter turnout was just over 42 percent, the lowest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Some opposition figures in Iran and members of the diaspora have called for a boycott of the polls, with the Reform Front, a key coalition of reformist parties, announcing it will not take part in "meaningless, non-competitive and ineffective elections."