In Shiraz (capital of the southern Fars province), the polling station at Darvazeh Qassabkhaneh was set ablaze at 10:30 a.m. In polling stations no. 37 in Shokoufaye Omid, no.1 in Imam Hassan, no. 168 in Nemouneh Andisheh and 111 in Shahrestani elementary schools, and elsewhere, indicate that a very limited number of people actually voted. Those who turned out were either from the military forces or relatives of the candidates. Contrary to the regime's propaganda, the young people disregarded and did not take part in the elections.
In Orumieh (capital of the west Azerbaijan province), the polling stations were empty. Only a few voters turned up at Koshtargah district's polling stations.
In Salmas shahr, a suburb of Salmas (west Azerbaijan province), there was no public participation in the elections. Local authorities brought in vehicles to forcibly take the people to vote. So extensive was the boycott that the polling station in Mossadeq elementary school was closed down. In Saheb-al Zaman stations only two people voted in several hours.
In Ardebil (capital of the northwestern province of Ardebil), rival factions resorted to buy the birth certificates of the impoverished people living in the city's periphery to vote for their own candidates.
In Assad-Abad, Hamedan (western Iran), only relatives of candidates took part in the voting due to their tribal and familial ties.
In Isfahan (central Iran), the streets are empty. Most people have left town for the weekend. The security forces are stationed throughout the city and at every intersection. Young people are absent among the few who vote. In the polling stations in Isfahan, authorities delay the voting to create long lines.
In the city of Qom, central Iran, very few people are in the polling stations.
In Marand, east Azerbaijan province, most of the voters were students because the day before, the Islamic Association had ordered them to vote or they would be denied the chance to study.
According to an internal report by the regional command of the para-military Bassij in the northern Iranian Golestan province, residents of Hassan-Abad village have totally boycotted the elections.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 26, 1999
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