IRAN: The End of Election Show

Omid Habibinia
Journalist and Political Communication Researcher

The seventh parliamentary election in Iran ( Islamic Majles), took place in a way that no opponent was allowed to participate during the last 25 years and the people call it a show.
At the same time tens of people in different part of Iran from Kurdestan to Lorestan and Fars have been killed and injured, fighting with the police for boycotting the election and some others caught in custody.
In spite of all that, none of the elections during the last 25 years were so vast and determinedly boycotted by all, so that the messages delivered secretly against the election in Iran equaled the useless propagandas of conservative candidates, specially in Tehran as a 12 million people metropolitan.
Of course, because of scrutiny or the probability of not being accepted in the state posts or passed from the political and ideological employment filters, some people and governors were afraid of not voting; but the majority has decided to boycott the show; a boycott which could intensify the illegitimacy crisis of the regime and lead the situation toward an extreme confrontation.
In Iran the intelligence services should vet the candidates, and the researches over the candidates not only include the individual political background but also the private life. In the next step another special commission should inspect independently and examine the views of all convinced over the candidates.
After the examination the case of the candidate is sent to the guardian council where the destiny will be decided on the basis of the political tastes, just two or three weeks before the election.
Some long time before after people dissatisfaction of the Khatami wing’s untrue paroles, which was carried out with the students, workers, teachers, nurses and employees demonstrations against inefficiency of Khatami’s government, this wing who tries to appear democrat in foreign policy and even in the official reports of UNO inspectors (Ligabo), has left the simulation and tried to suppress the opponents. Tens of mines workers were shut down in last month during their demonstration in east south Iran. Thus coincident people opposition ascendance, inside regimes contrarieties also went up.
That is why the conservative wing, contacting European states specially France, England and some times America, wants to draw their confidence to unit its power. And the guardian council with the experience of 90 percent boycott in the election of city councils in 2001 and the awareness of voters shortage decided to omit its political rivals; so the efficiency of a vast part of Khatami’s adherents was rejected. This event caused just a calm opposition of this wing and a public resignation. But on the other hand, the other pros Khatami parties such as the chief of present parliament have participated in elections. This way he had also the same fate of Rafsanjani, the last parliament chief and ex-president who didn’t take enough votes to enter the parliament.
In this manner, as the official polls like Ministry of Interior’s has informed that only 20 percent of people participated in the elections, suddenly with the order of the leader it was declared that half of the people qualified to vote have voted. And on the other side the different foreign reporters in Iran spoke about deserted voting stations and that in some stations the loud speakers ask people to come to vote. The state TV prevented to show the gathering voting scene in full shots. According to the official polls only %27 in Tehran voted; whereas the people estimations shows only %10 in the whole country have voted.
In spite of this, the conservative wing who is confirmed by the leader has hold all the chairs in the parliament and a sudden coalition confirmed by the leader of the less known ones in this wing mostly depended to the financial oligarchy or of a military forces ( Sepah Pasdaran) entered parliament ( Madjless) . Among them is Farhad Nazari the military chief who ordered to attack the Thran University dormitory in 1999, resulted in death or injures of tens of students and a one week people demonstration . Nazari’s flyers were mostly found torn up in Tehran.
Not that long after this election the orders to ban newspapers and catch journalists is issued one after the other. For the present time Iran is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalistic activities; so called the great prison for journalists in middle east.
Increase of inside suppression, replacing of the chief of security council, confirmed by the leader instead of Khatami the prevailing wing will make him to resign in time or pass uselessly the rest of his presidency. This wing tries to decrease the international relation crisis with relating European governments specially England which is always taken into the consideration of the wing pro Ayatollah Khameneii and also wants to save themselves communicating with America in the time of increasing the overcoming of inside oppositions specially the workers’ and students’ fighting.
But the results of this “election show” has confirmed that Iran people suffering poverty, dictatorship, corruption, increase of professionals immigration and injustice, have no tolerance to continue such miseries.
The automatic rebels all over the country and vast workers’ and employees’ strikes decrease the power of regime to over come the people up rising even if it is forced to order an martial law. However people’s confronting the regime is very probable in the soon future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Omid Habibinia was Political prisoner , He is Journalist and member of Iran Freedom “of Expression Frontiers.“ this article published in Vorwärts Socialist weekly magazine in Switzerland.