Iran begins first election campaign since the 2022 mass protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Candidates for Iran’s parliament began campaigning for the country’s first election since the crackdown on the nationwide protests in 2022 that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. The 15,200 candidates will compete for a term in the 290-seat chamber that hardliners have controlled for two decades. Amini was arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the strict headscarf law that forced women to cover their hair and entire bodies. The protests escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s clerical rulers. In the crackdown that followed, over 500 people were killed and nearly 20,000 arrested, according to activists. The election will be held March 1, and the new parliament will convene in late May.