{"id":22270,"date":"2021-05-27T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T04:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?p=22270"},"modified":"2021-05-26T18:27:41","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:27:41","slug":"iran-media-admits-the-election-boycott-will-harm-the-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/articles\/2021\/05\/iran-media-admits-the-election-boycott-will-harm-the-regime\/22270\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Media Admits the Election Boycott Will Harm the Regime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Iranian state-run media has admitted that the regime\u2019s legitimacy will be challenged by the predicted low turnout in the presidential election<\/a>, following the organization of a boycott <\/a>by the Resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Etemad daily reported that if the low election turnout (as previously seen in February 2020) happens again, then the regime\u2019s legitimacy will be in question, so they advised that all politicians, no matter their faction should seek to increase voter turnout above all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They quoted Expediency Council member Mohammad Sadr as saying that the opposition, the\u00a0People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK<\/a>)\u00a0and its\u00a0Resistance Units, are encouraging a boycott to undermine the legitimacy of the regime, so if the turnout is low, the regime would consider it a security threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Resalat\u00a0daily wrote on May 20: \u201cThe current situation targets the system\u2019s security and fuels calls for regime change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many reasons for the boycott, but the general feeling can be best summed up in the following quote from one of the regime\u2019s top clerics, Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi<\/a>, where he gives the game away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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