Mahdi Chamran Re-elected as Head of Tehran City Council

Mahdi Chamran, the head of the Tehran City Council, was re-elected to his position in the last year of this council's term. His opponent, Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, a reformist member of the council, received 14 votes, two votes less than Chamran. The election for the head of the fourth Tehran City Council took place on September 1, amid reports of '50% discounts' on the sale of municipal properties, which faced protests from conservatives. They claimed that this was intended to 'influence' the election of the council's leadership. Nevertheless, the apparent protests from conservatives did not affect the voting in the final session of the four-year Tehran council, and Mr. Chamran remained in his position with 16 votes. According to reports, one member of the Tehran City Council also cast a blank vote. Mahdi Chamran has also served as the head of the Tehran City Council during its second and third terms. Before the election, several reformist members of the Tehran City Council and Iranian media accused the Tehran municipality of a '2 trillion tomans' violation in selling properties with 'special discounts of over 50%' to council members, municipal managers, some journalists from state media, and the housing cooperative of the judiciary. In response, the president, vice president, and several conservative members of the Tehran City Council stated that the publication of these reports was politically motivated and aimed at influencing the election of the council's leadership. Some Iranian social media channels even suggested that considering the comparison of prices with 'expert evaluations,' the discounts given compared to actual prices could be as much as one-fourth of the original price. Following the publication of these reports, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council called on the head of the judiciary to investigate the 'violations' of the Tehran municipality. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, stated that the transfer of these properties and the discounts given were 'in accordance with regulations.' Reformists and conservatives have a nearly equal number of representatives from their lists in the Tehran City Council, and the opinions of several athlete members of the council also influence the fate of the leadership.