The progressive candidates veto and protests in recent years empty the ballot box on March 1
A man looks at posters of candidates running in the Iranian parliamentary elections
Iran returned to the ballot boxes on March 1, the first elections after the riots triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini for wearing the hijab incorrectly in September 2022 and in the midst of general discontent over the poor economic situation affecting the daily life of the working classes. Although the result will still take days to be known, the high abstention rate will be key.
WHAT IS BEING VOTED IN THESE ELECTIONS?
Iranian citizens voted this Friday for the members of two of its main government bodies: the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts.
Elections to the Iranian Parliament take place every four years and citizens from all over the country elect by direct vote the representatives who will occupy the 290 seats that currently make up the plenary. This body has limited powers, since its decisions must subsequently be approved by the Guardian Council –a committee of 12 jurists who are experts in Islam and whose task is to study the Islamic and patriotic credentials of everything proposed in Parliament–.
The Assembly of Experts is a high-ranking body that elects, dismisses and supervises the activities of the Ayatollah, Iran's supreme leader. The Assembly is made up of 88 Shiite clerics who are elected by direct vote of the people for an eight-year term.
THE CANDIDATES
A few years ago, the days leading up to the elections felt like a time of possibilities for change in Iran. Candidates passed through the filter of the Guardian Council and there was a variety of options, with a choice between those calling for reform and those more conservative and radical. During past elections there was a certain degree of "democratic openness", which no longer exists.
For this year's elections, of the 15,200 candidates for the parliamentary elections –more than 1,700 women– in which 290 seats were up for election, there were only 30 candidates from the reformist camp. It is true that the latter has lost the popularity it enjoyed in previous elections and that many names directly desisted from presenting their candidacy, but this does not diminish the responsibility of the Guardian Council, which for years has been blocking access to the elections to those who propose changes contrary to the Iranian constitution. The political capital that the more reformist candidates had achieved in previous times has been fading away because they have not been able to fulfill their progressive proposals as they have remained within the margins of the Islamic Republic.
THE PARTICIPATION
This low progressive representation and the almost null expectation they generate among the Iranian population, has caused great discontent in part of the voters, who do not see the sense of going to vote and have preferred to abstain in protest, since the chances of any of these 30 reformists getting a seat are minimal. It is estimated that only around 40% of Iranians have voted, which would be the lowest result in an election since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
The Islamic Republic is appealing to citizen participation in the elections: "Those who love their country, their people and their security should know that everyone will suffer from weak elections", said Ayatollah Khamenei, while the reformist fringe is calling for abstention at the ballot boxes. For these reasons, it is expected that the chamber will once again produce a conservative and ultra-conservative majority.
For their part, some of the country's public figures are calling for the population to abstain from voting. One such example is Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian who is currently imprisoned. Mohammadi has called for abstention through his social networks.
THE IRANIAN POPULATION'S UNEASE
In September 2022, Mahsa Amini, a young woman from Iran's oppressed Kurdish minority, was visiting Tehran with her brother. She was intercepted and arrested by Iran's "morality" (gasht-e ershad) police, who routinely arbitrarily detain women who do not comply with the country's abusive and discriminatory compulsory veiling laws. Hours after her arrest, credible reports surfaced that the "morality" police had subjected her to torture and other ill-treatment inside the police van, including blows to her head. Mahsa Amini fell into a coma and was taken by ambulance to Tehran's Kasra Hospital, where she died three days later.
Amini's death sparked a nationwide uprising under the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom" against decades of inequality and widespread repression. Thousands of young people took to the streets to protest and the security forces launched a crackdown that lasted for months. More than 500 people lost their lives, eight were executed and around 22,000 have been imprisoned. In addition, dozens of people lost at least one eye as a result of the violent response and hundreds of students were suspended from universities.
A woman cuts her hair as a sign of solidarity and protest during riots in Iran
Many women have since removed their veils and walk around with their hair in the air, an act the regime seems to approve of only if it is done to vote. As the spokesman for the Guardian Council recently said: "No law has denied the right to vote, and not even a court can take it away.
An Iranian woman with her hair uncovered shows her ink-covered finger after casting her ballot
In addition to this, there are other problems that affect more than just those who fight for greater freedoms, especially for women. Year after year, Iranians feel that their purchasing power is lower, and this is especially evident in young people, among whom unemployment rates are soaring: almost 50% for women and 24% for men.
THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT
Iran's most powerful figure is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 84, the country's supreme leader since 1989. Khamenei is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and has authority over the National Police and the Moral Police, whose officers arrested Mahsa Amini. The ayatollah also controls the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in charge of the country's internal security, and its volunteer wing, the Basij Resistance Force. The Basij have repeatedly suppressed dissent in Iran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a ceremony in Tehran
In a pyramid of power in Iran, just below the ayatollah is the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, who is the highest elected official and second in rank after the supreme leader.
Raisi is responsible for the day-to-day management of the government and has great influence on domestic policy and foreign affairs. However, his powers are relatively limited, especially in security matters. The Interior Ministry, under the president's control, formally runs the national police force, which has suppressed protests. However, its commander was appointed by the supreme leader and answers directly to him. Moreover, for example, if the supreme leader wanted to put down the protests by force, the president has no choice but to bow to him.
Ebrahim Raisi, president-elect of Iran
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