Iran’s parliamentary election was a test of survival By Hamid Enayat
The Ministry of the Interior finally announced the results of the election on Sunday, after a prolonged delay. According to Interior minister Rahmani Fazli, out of approximately 58 million eligible voters, only 24.5 million participated in the election. This means that tonly 42.5% of citizens voted, the lowest level of turnout in the last 41 years. The Ministry of Interior added that the turnout in Tehran was 25%, meaning that 75% of the population did not participate at all.
The state-run newspaper Jahan-e San’at wrote on February 23: “The government avoids presenting any statistics that directly or indirectly show the total number of voters[.] … What comes to mind, however, is that the total number of votes cast by Iranian citizens was not significant. The regime is keen to increase this number to prove its legitimacy.”
This is precisely the proof of the claims from the Iranian opposition, the MEK, about fake statistics during all elections. Another state-run newspaper wrote, “Tehran has gone through one of the most unprecedented and low-profile elections in history.”
Reporters who had traveled to Iran at the time of the election testified to widespread boycotts, despite visiting pre-determined constituencies. The international community has doubts about the Iranian regime’s heavy defeat in this election. This is while the Islamic Republic of Iran has continuously tried to say during the elections — presidential and parliamentary — that these elections are a referendum, and citizens are voting yes to the system with their participation.
The 2019 mid-November uprising of the rebel youth, by attacking the IRGC centers, and the slogan of “down with the dictator” were in fact a vote for regime change. The repression and killing of these young people were proof of the regime’s illegitimacy on the international scene. This election became a matter of survival for the regime. Concerning that, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says, “In the eyes of international observers, issues such as participation rate in the elections or how officials and institutions like the parliament are working are important. Thus, proving high turnout in the parliamentary elections is essential.”
Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, who, with the slogan of equality between men and women, has been able to seize the streets of Iran since the 2017 uprising, has called for a boycott of the regime’s elections. She believes that Iranians have asserted their real vote in the last two uprisings with the slogans of “down with the dictator.” She added that the boycott of the election was in line with the demands of the students during the November 2019 uprising and demonstration, following the intentional annihilation of the Ukrainian airliner. Iranian students were chanting, “Down with tyranny, whether it is the Shah or the Supreme Leader.” They have shown that they want a future without a sheikh or a monarchy. They want a system based on democracy and the rights of the people.
The intentional shooting down of the Ukrainian airliner by the Revolutionary Guards and the killing of 176 passengers and subsequent lies by the Iranian regime further deepened the disagreement between the regime and the Iranian people. In the wake of this event, the Iranian resistance units, formed by the groups of the unemployed and the deprived population, have carried a variety of movements in society by attacking and burning down the regime’s repression centers throughout Iran, including those belonging to the Revolutionary Guards Corps, such as the Ramadhan base and the Basij militia’s bases.
“If the people participate strongly in the election, this will ensure the security of the country,” Khamenei said on the regime’s television on February 5. Javad Zarif also emphasized: “The strong presence of the people in the election is the largest diplomatic asset of the system and strengthens our diplomats.” For this reason, even Hassan Rouhani, whose faction was completely rejected by the Guardian Council, urged people to vote in the election to prevent the rise and acceleration of the regime’s opposition movements.
Khamenei was aware of the fact that disqualifying Hassan Rouhani’s faction would harm the moderate image of the regime on the international scene. However, inevitably, he did so in order to withstand the powerful waves of popular uprisings and crises that have haunted the regime. Undoubtedly, the Iranian regime failed this test, and we will later see the rebellious youth confronting the Revolutionary Guards’ minority, who have taken people’s rights hostage.
Comments are closed.
