Iranians will vote for lawmakers (Al-Monitor) today. A vetting committee loyal to Iran’s Supreme Leader barred thousands of candidates (BBC) from running, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and top religious clerics are hoping for high voter turnout that would signal support for the regime.

Today’s are the first parliamentary elections (FT) since Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran, triggering an economic crisis. Victory for hardliners and conservatives would likely weaken President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate. After authorities cracked down on anti-government protests in recent months, many protesters have called for a boycott of the elections.

An agreement between Washington and the Taliban to reduce violence in Afghanistan is set to begin (TOLO) at midnight tonight, according to Afghanistan’s National Security Council. Washington plans to sign a deal with the militant group on February 29, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
 
Pakistan: Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan has resigned (RFE/RL) on request of the country’s lawyers’ association. The association called for Khan to retract his criticism of Pakistan’s Supreme Court judges, which he refused to do.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from Group of Twenty (G20) countries will meet this weekend (Reuters) in Riyadh, where they are due to discuss the economic impact of the new coronavirus and a proposed agreement to tax tech giants. China will not send (Reuters) officials to the meeting.
 
This CFR Backgrounder explains the G20’s purpose.

Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda are set to discuss the possibility of reopening a border crossing (Al Jazeera) that was closed last year amid a dispute between the leaders.
 
South Africa: The government will continue to distribute land (Bloomberg) to the country’s black majority, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, despite U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s warning that such actions would hurt South Africa’s economy.

Russia is interfering in the 2020 U.S. election (NYT) to support the reelection of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. intelligence officials reportedly told lawmakers last week.
 
In this episode of CFR’s Inside the Issues video series, Shannon K. O’Neil discusses foreign interference in U.S. elections
 
Ireland: Prime Minister Leo Varadkar resigned (BBC) after an election failed to conclusively identify a successor. His party, Fine Gael, will meet with its long-time rival Fianna Fail next week to discuss the possibility (Reuters) of forming a coalition government.

The head of Bolivia’s election body said exiled former President Evo Morales is not eligible (Reuters) to run for Senate in May elections.
 
Brazil: State-owned oil company Petrobras will not focus (FT) on transitioning to renewable energy for at least two years, its chief financial officer said.

Presidential caucuses (WaPo) occur on Saturday in Nevada, where the Democratic Party will implement a new vote-counting system that uses iPads and Google software. The system was created to avoid technical malfunctions that occurred during the Iowa caucuses.