In this way, despite all the rigging and exaggeration of the vote tally, the clerical regime could announce the election turn out as only one-third of the 2,700,000 eligible voters in that province.
In other words, the mullahs admit that the election was boycotted by two-thirds of the voters, reflecting the fact that despite appeals by the regime's leaders, and especially Khatami, the people of Fars province decisively boycotted the "councils'" election farce. The announced figure is about 170,000 votes less than the total reported by the regime during the Assembly of Experts elections in that province.
It is worthy of note that few people went to vote in many polling stations in the provincial capital, Shiraz. Those who tuned out were either members of the regime's military forces or relatives of the candidates. The Darvazeh Qassab-khaneh polling station in the city was set ablaze at 10:30 a.m., on the election day.
An hour after the start of the voting on Friday, more than 1,000 residents of Khonj in Fars province attacked the district office and the Guards Corps headquarters with stones, bricks and plywood and heavily damaged them.
The State Security Force and the Guards Corps opened fire on the demonstrators, killing or wounding a number of people. Many were also arrested.
Fearing the spread of the clashes and the disruption of the elections, the regime closed down a number of polling stations in the city and dispatched reinforcements to Khonj from nearby cities.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 28, 1999
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