The people today, following 37 years of their Revolution that put an end to Mohammad Reza Shah's authoritarian regime go to the ballot boxes to elect their representatives for the 10th Islamic Consultative Assembly, also called the Iranian Parliament or Majlis and simultaneously vote to elect members of the fifth term of the Assembly of Experts.
Currently, the Parliament has 290 representatives fourteen of whom represent non-Muslim religious minorities. Women constitute about eight percent of the Parliament members.
A total of 4,844 candidates, including about 500 women, who have been qualified from amongst 12,000 registered candidates by the Guardian Council, are taking part in the competition today to occupy parliamentary seats. At least 21 people will vie for each seat in the legislature.
The elected candidates will serve from May 3, 2016 for a four-year term.
In the capital Tehran, more than 1,000 candidates are competing for just 30 parliamentary seats.
Khorasan Razavi will send 18 representatives to the Parliament, while the number of candidates for other major provinces stands at 20 for Isfahan, four for Yazd, 19 for East Azarbaijan, 18 for Fars, eight for Sistan-Baluchestan, six for Kordestan, four for Bushehr, 13 for Gilan, and 12 for Mazandaran.
The Assembly of Experts will also see its 88 members elected today by the people for another eight-year term.
While 800 Islamic theologians, including women, registered for the high-ranking body, only 161 were approved with no women allowed to stand for the assembly.
Members of the assembly meet twice a year to review major national issues and every other year to appoint a new chairman.
But what distinguishes the assembly is its capacity to elect and oversee the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, while it wields the authority to either appoint or dismiss the Leader.
The candidates, both in the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts, belong to either one of the two major camps, i.e., the Principalists and the Reformists.
A moderate camp led by the government of President Hassan Rouhani who has opted for a constructive engagement with the world, is also a main player on today's Iran political scene.
The Principalists tend to strongly support the Supreme Leader of Iran Islamic Revolution and stick to the ideological principles established on the early days of the Islamic Revolution.
They are devoted to the principle of Vilayat Faqih, a Shia theory that observes Islam gives a faqīh (Islamic jurist) custodianship over people.
The Reformists on the other hand, though committed to the Leadership and the Islamic Revolution principles, believe more work should be done in Iran's political, economic and cultural domains by relying more on the Constitution.
The Reformists also maintain that on its way to achieve more development, the Islamic Republic should not be in confrontation line with the world, but should seek more détente with other nations.
President Rouhani and his team, adhering to a stance of moderation, have set development of the country as their main goal, while they tend to achieve this without necessarily going to extremes.
Away from all the Western media hype trying to capitalize on the apparently different orientations of the political players to foster public disarray, the main function of elections in Iran is uniting the people.
As appears in the words of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, election in Iran is not solely a political event; it is the symbol of public presence, securing of people's rights, power, and national authority.
Today again, Iranians are expected to make another epic electoral turnout to demonstrate their strong resolve and show that they are still devoted to the Islamic Revolution and its principles.
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