“Esfand Without a Vote”: Political Activists Call for “Election Boycott”

164 political and civil activists outside the country have called on the Iranian people to boycott the parliamentary elections in Esfand. These activists hope that by actively boycotting the elections, public protests will transform into a comprehensive movement.

A group of Iranian political and civil activists outside the country, through the publication of a statement, called on the Iranian people to join an “active boycott” of the parliamentary elections on the 2nd of Esfand.

The authors of this statement, describing the parliamentary elections as a farce and noting that “the fate of 70 percent of constituencies in these elections has been predetermined through engineering by the Supreme Leader’s institution, the appointed Guardian Council, and military-security forces, without any meaningful competition even among government factions,” deemed these elections to be devoid of any connection or relation to national sovereignty and representation of the Iranian people.

“Esfand Without a Vote” is the title that political and civil activists outside Iran have chosen for the election boycott. Iran’s parliamentary elections will be held in approximately two weeks (2nd of Esfand 1398).

164 political and civil activists outside Iran, through signing this statement, have considered the election boycott an appropriate opportunity for “protests” to continue and after “organization,” to create a “powerful and comprehensive social movement.”

In this call, the Iranian people are asked to distance themselves from “ornamental ballot boxes” so that through this civil disobedience, the ground for “genuine elections commensurate with the dignity of the people” is prepared in the country.

Another section of this statement emphasizes: “Participation in these appointments indirectly means both trampling on the blood of those killed in the November protests and disregard for people who were tragically killed by a passenger airliner, and also pours water on the mill of religious despotism to compensate for its lost legitimacy.”

Earlier, Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner in Iran, had also called for an election boycott “in honor of the blood of those killed” in Iran’s recent protests.

This statement also proposes solutions for influencing public opinion and “encouraging people not to vote” and reducing participation rates, especially in smaller cities. These activists hope that the election boycott will become an opportunity for “the growth of a comprehensive protest movement and the decline of religious despotism” in Iran.