In Iran, 61 million citizens have the right to vote. They are invited to vote in the parliamentary elections on the first of March. In addition, members of the Assembly of Experts will be elected. She chooses the supreme leader. Iran's Azar Kalam news agency cites the results of a nationwide public opinion poll conducted by an institute close to the government. According to the results of the research, the turnout will be only 30 percent. And in the capital Tehran, the turnout will be around 15 percent. Citizens cited the reasons for the lack of will to go to the polls - the incompetence of the parliament, corruption and lack of hope for a better future.
The state media agency Irna states that 15200 candidates are allowed to go to the polls, who will fight for 290 seats in the parliament.
Journalist Masjar Khosravi tells the AFP news agency that the government wants to create more competition at the local level by allowing so many candidates to increase turnout. "The largest number of candidates, above all in smaller constituencies, are doctors, engineers, clerks and educators who do not belong to any political group," he says.
Music and parties as advertising for elections
The election campaign began on February 22. On social networks, you can see videos from various pre-election rallies, accompanied by loud music and a festive atmosphere. As usual before the elections, members of the moral police from the ranks of the Basij militia remain invisible.
"As an ordinary soldier serving only the people, I call on the Iranian nation to understand these elections as extremely significant," Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami told reporters. "Elections are not held just to elect representatives in a certain part of the country. Their effect is global. The large turnout shows that Iran relies on the votes and will of the people in the midst of difficulties," he added.
It seems that Salami, like everyone in the Iranian government, knows very well that the gap between the people and the government is greater than ever. After the brutal suppression of protests that took place across the country in 2022 under the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom", almost no one believes in changes in the political system anymore.
Why don't people go to the elections?
Professor of Sociology at Sweden's Melardalen University Merdad Dervishpur says: "The more successful the top of the Islamic Republic is in suppressing any opposition and consolidating the Islamic patronage system, the less the influence of the Republic in the political system, while the Islamic rule becomes stronger." He explained that in the history of the Islamic Republic since 1979, there were phases when the population believed in reforms within the system and when elections were used as a form of protest. "The goal was to suppress the religious leaders and to strengthen the democratic elements. However, the results never led to real reforms, as the system did not follow the will of society," said Dervishpour.
Over time, the political system in Iran became increasingly radical and irreconcilable. The space for criticism was shrinking. Before the March elections, several candidates who were critical of the government were excluded from the list of candidates. Electoral authorities even excluded some former MPs due to "missing ideological qualifications".
Even before the parliamentary elections in 2020, numerous candidates inclined to reforms and moderation were rejected. According to the data of reformist politicians, a total of 20 to 30 candidates from their ranks are allowed to appear on the list. These elections are expected to consolidate the conservative government.
Ali Afshari is a former Iranian student leader who now lives in American exile. He says: "Elections in the Islamic Republic do not serve the possibility of political and social change or change of government, which would rest on the will of the majority and preserve the fundamental rights of minorities." Elections in Iran are an instrument for consolidating the illegitimate rule of the minority and preserving the system of unfair distribution of resources - it is a game of power and wealth".
Over 275 well-known activists and civil society representatives in Iran have announced a boycott of the elections. They point to the "wretched" state of the electoral system and condemn the "stagnation of reforms" as well as the "complete elimination of criticism" or "widespread disqualification of candidates". The signatories of the February 25 joint statement warn that all these factors together with the lack of diverse political voices undermine the legitimacy of the elections.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohamadi, who is in prison, joined the boycott. "I am on the side of the population and I am boycotting those fake elections, in order to emphasize the illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic and the gap between the repressive, authoritarian regime and the people," Mohamadi said in a statement from prison.
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