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Elections in Iran, no hope for change

2024-03-02 09:19:08Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Elections in Iran, no hope for change
Elections in Iran

The gap between the people and the government is wider than ever in Iran, as evidenced by calls for boycotts and low voter turnout. No changes are expected.

Due to low voter turnout in Iran, the opening hours of polling stations were extended until midnight. Some 61 million voters were called to elect not only the parliament (Majles) of the Islamic republic, but also the so-called Council of Experts, an influential body which then chooses the supreme leader.

The low voter turnout was also warned by Iran's Azar Kalam news agency, which cited the results of a nationwide poll conducted by an institute close to the government. According to the results of the research, participation nationwide was predicted at only 30 percent, while in the country's capital Tehran, participation was around 15 percent.

As reasons for the lack of will to go to the polls, the citizens mentioned the incompetence of the parliament, corruption and the lack of hope for a better future.

The state agency Irna announced that 15,200 candidates were allowed to vote, fighting for 290 seats in the parliament. Journalist Masjar Khosravi told AFP news agency that the government wants to create more competition at the local level by allowing so many candidates. "The largest number of candidates, especially in the smaller units, are doctors, engineers, clerks and lecturers who do not belong to any political group," he said.

Music and parties as election ads

The election campaign started on February 22. Videos from various pre-election rallies, accompanied by loud music and a festive atmosphere, were posted on social networks. As usual before the elections, members of the morality police from the ranks of the Basij militia did not appear.

"As an ordinary soldier serving only the people, I call on the Iranian nation to understand these elections as extremely important," Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami told reporters. "Elections are not only held 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 wider than ever. After the brutal suppression of protests that took place across the country in 2022 with the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom", almost no one believes in changes in the political system anymore.

Why do people not participate in 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 system of Islamic patronage, the smaller the influence of the Republic on the political system will be." . While Islamic rule grows stronger." He explained that in the history of the Islamic Republic since 1979, there have been 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 religious leaders and strengthen 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 more and more radical. The space for criticism was shrinking. Before the March elections, some candidates critical of the government were excluded from the list of candidates. The electoral bodies even expelled some former MPs due to the lack of ideological qualifications.

Even before the 2020 parliamentary elections, many reform-minded and moderate candidates were rejected. According to the data of the reformist politicians, 20 to 30 candidates from their ranks were allowed to appear on the list. These elections are expected to consolidate the conservative government.

Instrument for the consolidation of rule

Ali Afshari, a former Iranian student leader who now lives in exile in the US, says that "elections in the Islamic Republic do not serve the possibility of political and social change or change of government, which would rely on the will of the majority and preserve fundamental rights of minorities". Elections in Iran are an instrument for consolidating the illegitimate rule of the minority and maintaining the system of unfair distribution of resources - it is a game of power and wealth".

Over 275 well-known activists and representatives of civil society in Iran announced the boycott of the elections. They pointed out the "miserable" state of the electoral system and condemned the "stagnation of reforms" as well as the "complete elimination of criticism" or the "exclusion of candidates". The signatories of the joint declaration of February 25 warned that all these factors together with the lack of different political voices undermine the legitimacy of the elections.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner, Narges Mohamadi, who is in prison, joined the boycott. "I am on the side of the people and I am boycotting these fake elections, to highlight the illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic and the gap between the repressive, authoritarian regime and the people," Mohamad said in a statement from prison. DW


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