Many Iranian women will not vote in the next parliamentary elections on March 1 to show their rejection of the state repression of feminist protests unleashed by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and not to “legitimize” to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
More than 61 million Iranians are called to the polls on Friday to elect the 290 deputies of Parliament, now dominated by conservatives, and the 88 members of the Assembly of Experts, the body in charge of electing the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic in case of vacancy.
The elections are marked by the indifference of the electorate due to the poor economic situation, the disqualification of reformist candidates and political disaffection, which was accentuated by the protests unleashed by the death of Amini after being arrested for not wearing the Islamic veil properly. September 16, 2022.
First elections after the protests
Some protests and repression that many do not forget in the Persian country.
“Voting in the elections of the Islamic Republic would make me an accomplice in their crimes,” Maryam, a resident of Tehran, tells EFE.
This 32-year-old woman called for the end of the Islamic Republic shouting “women, life, freedom” along with thousands of young people in the streets of the country for months, in protests with a marked feminist tone that disappeared after a repression that caused 500 dead and in which eight protesters were executed, one of them in public.
“I cannot turn a blind eye to what happened two years ago in the protests,” says Maryam, who claims that her brother was “brutally beaten” by the police in the demonstrations.
A sentiment shared by Niki, a 34-year-old secretary from Tehran, who also demonstrated in 2022 and 2023.
“You don’t even have the right to protest peacefully and when you go out to protest you don’t know if you will return home or not,” he points out.
“By not voting we can show that a majority does not support this system,” he says.
For lawyer Leila “there is no difference” between the 15,200 candidates competing for one of the 290 seats in the Iranian Parliament, so she will not vote “so as not to legitimize” the Islamic Republic, which places great importance on participation considering that gives it legitimacy.
“I don’t think it is reasonable to vote and participate in the game of the regime, which only cares about good participation that gives it legitimacy,” explains the lawyer.
For her, the repression of the 2022 protests “convinced” those who still had doubts about voting or not.
Low participation forecast
Forecasts point to low participation in the elections, amid calls for abstention from public figures such as the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who considers the boycott as “a moral obligation for Iranians who love freedom and seek justice.” ”.
A recent survey by a government center showed that 30% of Iranians would participate in the elections, down from 42% in the 2020 parliamentary elections, the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Among the reasons given for not voting is the disqualification of reformist candidates, including former President Rohani, a candidate for the Assembly of Experts.
This body is elected every eight years and the result of these elections could have great importance in the future of the Islamic Republic, given the high age of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, 84 years old.
The leader has appealed to voting to strengthen the country against enemies, while the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, General Hosein Salamí, stated that voting is “punching rivals in the mouth.”
Some appeals in vain for the university student Arezu, who assures EFE that she will not vote while the religious govern the country.
“The next time I vote will be when a referendum is held to decide on the future of the political system,” says Arezu.
BY: TTU
