{"id":22199,"date":"2021-05-20T06:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T04:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?p=22199"},"modified":"2021-05-19T19:49:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T17:49:31","slug":"irans-elections-are-an-insult-to-the-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/articles\/2021\/05\/irans-elections-are-an-insult-to-the-name\/22199\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Elections Are an Insult to the Name"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For an election to be considered free and fair, there must be an actual choice in the candidates and useful instruments to allow collective decision-making. These things do not exist in Iran, so it is no wonder that the people are widely rejecting the regime and vowing to boycott the presidential elections in June, especially after the mullahs\u2019 lackluster response to the coronavirus pandemic that has caused a healthcare and economic crisis. Even sectors of society that the regime would have considered their base, like farmers and religious people, have turned on the mullahs due to corruption and mismanagement by officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They cry: \u201cReformists, hardliners, the game is over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/p9L0T5kXEAw\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So if there\u2019s no real choice and the people will boycott, what is the point in holding an election? Well, political scientists have repeatedly pointed out that dictatorial regimes will use so-called elections to falsely claim legitimacy in front of the international community, even if they have to majorly inflate the turnout. These are less about the people electing than officials selecting, but some foreign leaders and bodies will be fooled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These elections are actually just a way for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei<\/a> to give his loyal followers a small amount of the resources he\u2019s stolen from the Iranian people, but in the four years since the last election, Iran has seen three major uprisings that damaged the regime and an 18-month-long pandemic. The regime is at its weakest point since its inception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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