The Mojahedin Command inside Iran reported on the basis of its monitoring of thousands of polling stations throughout Iran that yesterday's Majlis elections in Iran was widely boycotted by the people.

The report said that only about 7.5 million people cast their votes in the sham elections, which is approximately 17 percent of the electorate. This was despite the mullahs' deafening propaganda and all the preparations and rigging and "predictions" by the regime's Supreme Leader.

The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted the Deputy Interior Minister for parliamentary and legal affairs on November 26, 1998, as saying that 43,275,000 people have the right to vote. Now, more than a year later, the mullahs' regime has put the number of those eligible to vote at 38.7 million, or 4.5 million less, in a bid to inflate the percentage of those who voted. The clerical regime habitually exaggerates the number of voters in its election masquerades four to five times higher than the actual figures.
 

Youth Say Election Won't Make Much Difference, Boycott Elections, Agence France Presse, February 18

TEHRAN - Khatami called it a "day of destiny" but with millions of Iranians voting Friday in a key election for parliament, many young people here said the polls won't change a thing.

"They talk to us and try to get our votes. Then they get in power and don't listen to us anymore," said one 19-year-old, at ease with his friends in a mountain park high above the capital on Friday morning.

"... There's no way I'll ever vote."

Meanwhile the president has been unable to kickstart the economy, which has been burdened by rampant inflation and unemployment, leaving many young Iranians turned-off by politics and despondent about the future.

"The economy is a catastrophe," said Ali-Reza, a 22-year-old philosophy student who also said he could not be bothered to take part in the vote.

"Maybe the election will change a few things but I don't think it will really have much effect," he said.

"Voting means nothing to me and I know a lot of other people who are also not going to vote," said a 22-year-old girl who was opting to spend the day in the park with her boyfriend instead of queuing to vote.

When asked if the frequent calls by Iranian authorities to turn out for the polls had any effect on her, she simply shook her head.
 

Iran's Myth of Moderation, The Washington Times Editorial, February 18

Today, the Iranian people cast their ballots in a parliamentary election that is widely expected to mark a turning point for the country. Unfortunately, expectations are likely misguided. Although the Iranian people will make known their will to the Iranian government and the rest of the world through their votes, the election itself won't secure meaningful political change in Iran.

… Voters can therefore express their desire for change by voting for the most reformist candidates, but can expect to see little concrete progress.

Before the council [of Guardians] even began its job of vetting candidates, the regime had effectively repressed reform movements…

Even Iran's repressed reform movement should be regarded with some skepticism, however. Iran's leading progressives, such as… Mohammad Khatami, are part of the elite, religious society that rules Iran and have helped make the repressive policies of past regimes. They are hoping to reform the current theocracy from within, but don't appear to be striving to build a free democracy. They are reformists, therefore, only in relative terms….

The elections in Iran won't likely bring about the hopes for political changes. The demonstrations that are routinely crushed in Iran and the infighting within the ruling clerical elite could be harbingers of change, however. The West should help the process by viewing the current regime realistically.
 

Violence in Election Aftermath Kills Eight in Iran, Reuters, February 20

TEHRAN - Police fired at crowds of demonstrators protesting against alleged ballot rigging in two towns in southwestern Iran, killing eight and wounding scores more, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The daily Kayhan said the eight, including a young child, were killed on Saturday in clashes with police in oil-rich Khuzestan province during protests against the results of last Friday's parliamentary election in their districts.

The newspaper said an angry crowd had set fire to police cars in the town of Shush and attacked banks and public buildings.

Back to Brief on Iran