Iran, a country of 90 million people, will go to the polls on March 1 in the 12th legislative election the Islamic Republic has held since its founding in 1979.
Voting will take place as the government is at the centre of ideological battles at home, in the Middle East and on the international stage.
A wave of protests swept the country from September 2022 and lasted well into spring the following year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iran’s religious police on suspicion of not wearing a headscarf properly.
Although the protest movement has subsided, many inside Iran say the relationship the country’s young people have with the state – particularly that of young women – has changed irreversibly.
Two former presidents have already described these elections as neither free nor fair and authorities are worried that the aftermath of the protests, widespread dissatisfaction with the economy and general disenchantment with the country’s system of governance will result in the lowest turnout the Islamic Republic has seen.
In this episode of Year of Elections, The National’s opinion editor Sulaiman Hakemy looks into all of that with Arash Azizi, a senior lecturer in history and political science at Clemson University, South Carolina, and Milad Dokhanchi, a renowned cultural critic and entrepreneur.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
