A new parliament will be elected in Iran today. But large parts of the population want to boycott the vote. Anger and frustration over repression and the poor economic situation extend across society.
There is almost no sign of an election campaign atmosphere in the Iranian capital these days. Rather, people are talking about the heavy snowfall, which has been causing traffic chaos for days. On Enghelab Square, the Square of the Revolution, most people walk past the election posters without paying attention to them.
When asked about the elections, many of them just roll their eyes in exasperation and make it clear that they definitely don’t want to vote. However, many of them don’t dare to talk about the reasons in front of a TV camera. “If I tell you my opinion, I’ll have big problems tomorrow,” shouts a man.
The people of Tehran are less interested in the election posters – the winter is keeping them busy these days.
The opposition is not allowed to take part
Voter turnout could be particularly low in large cities. There are no representative surveys, only estimates. The capital Tehran is somewhere between 20 and 25 percent. There is no serious political opposition that would be allowed to take part in elections in the Islamic Republic.
The candidates are pre-selected by the so-called Guardian Council, an ultra-conservative body consisting of twelve clergymen; the chairman is already 97 years old. Well-known reformers are in prison or banned from politics.
It also affects the conservatives
And even candidates who are part of the regime and only wanted to promote small changes are now excluded from elections.
For example, former President Hassan Rouhani, often described as a moderate, is essentially a classic conservative. Rohani sat on the so-called Council of Experts for 20 years, which is also being elected today. A committee of 88 people whose job is to elect the religious leader.
Until now, this was only necessary. In 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the members at the time decided on Ali Khamenei, who remains the leader today. There are always rumors about possible successors, such as the current ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi, but few concrete indications.
voter turnout has been falling for years
One problem for the regime is that voter turnout has been steadily declining for years. Where there is no competition, there are no voters, says Abbas Abdi, author of the daily newspaper Etemad, one of the last media outlets that still dares to criticize from time to time.
In our politics there is no trophy at all. There is no trophy, there is no competition. Now candidates who are essentially on the same team appear to be competing with each other. And to this day I haven’t heard a word from them about what they actually want to do when they sit in parliament.
The candidates are “on the same team,” says author Abdi about the parliamentary election.
Many have finished with the regime
While the regime is promoting a hashtag on election posters that means “For our country!”, many Iranians have shared a photo on so-called social media in recent days. It is a reminder that the vast majority of the current parliament had advocated executing demonstrators who took to the streets after the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini in autumn 2022
“There has been an even more serious division in Iran since then,” says Savash Porgham, a Turkish-Iranian journalist and lecturer in communications studies. Since the so-called Women’s Life Freedom protests, he has observed an increasing number of people who have finished with the Islamic Republic system. “They are ready to fight for freedom and free themselves from the constraints of the regime.” Many of these included boycotting the elections.
Images of the protests following the death of Jina Mahsa Amin went around the world in 2022. The regime cracked down on the demonstrators.
“A pure show”
A young student, whose name should not be mentioned for security reasons, is also planning to do this. She is one of the few who is willing to speak in front of the camera – even though she is already taking a risk every day: she no longer wears a headscarf.
“These elections are purely a show. They want to artificially gain legitimacy by setting up ballot boxes,” she says, pausing briefly. “None of these candidates represent me. None of these people should be allowed to decide my future. I don’t accept this whole system.”
Just a few meters away, an older man complains about politics. He said he fought for the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and is ashamed of it today. “This system is playing with people and it has to stop.” The fact that he doesn’t want to vote is primarily due to economic reasons: inflation that has been at more than 40 percent for years and increasing poverty. “I am now 85 years old and I have to think about the young people who still have a future ahead of them.”
Voting under pressure
But there are also people who continue to vote. Not all of them because they are convinced of the system or the candidates, but because they feel pressure. The human rights organization Hengaw reports calls, among others, to teachers asking them to go to the polls.
In recent years, it was mainly regime supporters and conservatives who took the elections seriously. For them, the selection and restriction of candidates was and is no longer relevant, because they fundamentally agree with the candidates in terms of worldview.
The question of Ayatollah Khamenei’s successor hangs over the elections. But the deciding committee is hand-picked.
Empty Events the hardliner
In a sports hall in the center of Tehran, two candidates who are considered hardliners called for an election rally. A meter-long Israeli flag was laid out on the floor at the hall entrance. The participants walk across it without really registering it; it is part of the standard equipment of such events.
One thing is particularly interesting: the hall is not even a quarter full. Even here, interest seems to have waned.
In order to heat up the few people who have come, an older man in a gray jacket grabs the microphone. The hardliners’ usual battle cries are now heard: Death to America, Death to Israel. The participants agree. This afternoon it seems to be the highlight of their election rally.
Benjamin Weber, ARD Istanbul, tagesschau, March 1, 2024 6:39 a.m