The credibility of 2024 Iran Elections seems controversial particularly after the multitudes of the students’ organizations, professional and civic activist groups have largely challenged the national vote exercise.
The polls are scheduled on June 28 and six contenders are in the run. They, as per reports, are unable to win the confidence of the people. Those who lobbied to refuse this election call it a return of anti-people regime and an effort and a selection by the supreme leader.
According to the reports, more than a dozen big students and civil rights organizations have issued joint statement calling for a complete boycott of this poll. The statement said, “The presidential candidates are a handful of known criminals against the Iranian people, returning to the scene for the presidency of a government at war with its people.” It said the election contestants were not a true choice of the people of Iran and alleged that the candidates were merely a selection of the Supreme Leader -Ali Khamanei. “Elections in Iran are appointments from among the regime’s agents who are committed to maintaining the policies of the Islamic dictatorship based on misogyny, imprisonment, torture, and execution,” it said adding that none of the candidates of this election represent the Iranian people.
“These election contenders are merely tools and mechanisms for appointing another perpetrator of crimes against humanity to the presidency,” the statement said. It is important to note that among the six presidential candidates only one is from the reformist camp while the rest are perusing the hardline agenda. Now even the reformist candidate is being alleged for getting closer to Khamenei in a bid to win the seat.
Those running in this election after the approval of the Guardian Council are Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, and former Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi. One from among the Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Member of Parliament Massoud Pezeshkian and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili are being predicted to hold the presidential seat. According to the reports an Iranian government conducted a poll that reveals Jalili has a 23 percent chance to get elected as Iran’s next President while Ghalibaf has a 21 percent and Pezeshkian has a 13 percent chance in this election.
Meanwhile, a poll that Iranian journalist Maryam Shokrani conducted on her Instagram page revealed that out of the 3,374 users’ sample, around 88 percent said that they will not vote in this election. Another poll she conducted on her X account with a sample of 6,433 users disclosed that nearly 74 percent refused poll their vote in this election in favor of any candidate. These results are close to the figure that has reportedly leaked from the government that said the number those not willing to vote is 80 percent.
Government polling agencies in Iran include Culture Ministry, Intelligence Ministry, Interior Ministry, the state television and major government-owned news agencies such as IRNA and ISNA. At the same time, the smear campaigns previously seen in Iranian media during past elections have now shifted to social media. Available social media platform also running critical comments of the users against all the six candidates the way they discussed Iran’s economic problems in a four-hour live debate on state TV on Monday.
The candidates were to discuss their proposals and plans for Iran’s economy under the US and Western sanctions. They all promising get the sanctions lifted and introduce reforms but none was found offering any details. The discussed inflation, the budget deficit, Iran’s housing problem and ways to fight corruption. Within the given circumstances, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf remains the most prominent. Qalibaf, as a former Guard general, was part of a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999.
All the candidates are pledging to strengthen the country’s currency that currently 580,000 against one the dollar. All the six are yet away from the Iranian nuclear program. According to the results obtained from the Parsine survey, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf would likely get 29 percent of the votes, and another candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, follows him with 21 percent of the total votes. Saeed Jalili is likely to secure 18 percent and the total votes of other candidates stood at four percent. The candidates so far are campaigning on state television.
(By Rana Kashif)
