Iran-Majlis Elections- No. 1
Undeclared State of Siege in Iranian Cities
People stay away from polling stations

The Iranian people at large have shunned the mullahs' sham Majlis elections and stayed away from polling stations. By midday (local time), three hours after the polls opened, polling stations even in the densely-populated neighborhoods and downtown areas of Tehran and other metropolitan centers were quiet. The turnout so far has been so low that the state-run television has not been able to show any long lines of people waiting to vote.

The Mojahedin Command inside Iran has been monitoring thousands of polling stations in Tehran and the provinces and its detailed reports will be announced in the course of the day.

Fearful of popular protests, the mullahs' regime has enforced an undeclared state of siege in Tehran and other cities. In Tehran, divisions of the Revolutionary Guards, State Security Forces, the paramilitary Bassij and the Ministry of Intelligence are controlling the situation. Special anti-riot units of the Revolutionary Guards have been stationed at crossroads and on main streets since yesterday to check all cars and control the identities of passengers.

Street clashes and fighting between supporters of rival factions are continuing throughout the country. An election meeting held by several candidates at Cinema Saviz in Gohardasht in the city of Karaj (west of Tehran) on Wednesday was attacked by supporters of the rival faction and ended in chaos. The speaker was injured and taken to hospital. Also in Karaj, a bookshop associated with one of the candidates was set on fire, while the campaign headquarters of Khatami's faction in the city was also set ablaze on Monday.

In the southern city of Shiraz, three extensive clashes erupted between supporters of Khamenei and Khatami. Many were injured in the brawls, which took place outside Cinema Saadi, on Mullah Sadra Street and at Paramount Intersection.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 18, 2000

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