Prisoners, civil and political activists, and social media users: We boycott the elections

On the eve of the 11th term of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections, some prisoners and a group of civil and political activists called for a boycott of the elections and urged people not to participate in these elections.

In this regard, Shirin Ebadi , an Iranian jurist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has issued a statement in recent days, referring to embezzlement, corruption, oppression, inflation, and the poor economic situation of the people, saying: "There is no hope of reforming the government of the Islamic Republic, and... if a fund is going to move us towards democracy, it is the fund for changing the political structure of the government and passing the current constitution, and nothing else."

Twelve female activists imprisoned in Evin, including Neda Naji, Yasman Ariani, Raheleh Ahmadi, Atena Daemi, and Saba Kord Afshari, have issued a statement, referring to the massacres of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the early months of the 1979 revolution and calling the Islamic Consultative Assembly anti-people, declaring that "everyone who goes to the polls will have their fingerprints registered on the trigger of the gun that is fired at the revolutionary youth."

Narges Mohammadi , vice president and spokesperson for the Center for Human Rights Defenders and a civil activist imprisoned in Zanjan Prison, also called for a boycott of the 11th parliamentary elections in a statement she recently released, referring to the "street massacre and the government's brutal response" to the protests of the Iranian people and that the government does not tolerate any legal and peaceful means of popular protests. She called for an "election boycott" as the most civilized way to protest the government's narrow-minded and repressive policies, and wrote: "In honor of the blood of the innocently killed, let us not be present at the ballot boxes."

Zeinab Jalalian, Siamak Ashrafi, and 15 other Kurdish political prisoners in Urmia prisons have also boycotted the elections in recent days, saying: "They want us to forget the executions and not to look for the burial places of our unburied dead. To cover up the traces of our torture and to appear at the ballot box with a smile. To forget the blood that was shed in January 2017 and November 2019, and to forget the names of hundreds of kolbars who gave their lives for bread."

On the other hand, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri , one of the signatories of the letter calling for Ayatollah Khamenei's resignation, also released an audio file from inside Vakil Aban Prison in Mashhad, while boycotting these elections on behalf of "Group 14", and declared: "If we are unable to demand justice, at least by boycotting the blackmail of the March 2 elections, we will not be the unpaid and paid servants of these tyrants." He also says that this is the last opportunity for reformists to separate their ranks from the ranks of criminals and join the patriots."

Arash Sadeghi, Saeed Masuri, and Payam Shakiba, along with five other political prisoners from Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, also called participating in the elections and voting a continuation and confirmation of poverty, discrimination, corruption, imprisonment, repression, the prosperity of gallows, executions, and the promotion of terrorism, and declared that no free and conscientious Iranian will ignore the unjustly shed blood by participating in these dramatic elections and will not approve the usurpation of their human rights.

Soheil Arabi , a photographer, blogger, and civil activist imprisoned in Iran, also issued a statement not recognizing the Islamic Republic and boycotting the upcoming parliamentary elections; an election that, according to him, being held after the Islamic Republic's recent crimes on earth and in the sky, deserves a response that goes beyond sanctions.

Among the opposition parties to the Islamic Republic's government, the Democratic Front of Iran issued a statement calling for a boycott of the parliamentary elections, urging people to stay home on March 2, when the parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held, and boycott the sham elections.

The announcement states: "This national boycott is a sign of national solidarity and will and is in response to the killing of 1,500 people in November and the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the Revolutionary Guards."

Journalist Masih Alinejad also launched a campaign calling for a boycott of the elections, writing on his Twitter page: "Election week should be turned into a week of shame and election day into a Friday of shame."

The boycott of this parliamentary election is not limited to activists or political and civil prisoners; it has also been extremely popular on social media, and many users have supported the boycott of the 11th parliamentary elections.

One user considered participating in the elections as granting legitimacy and acceptance to the regime, being complicit in the killing of defenseless and protesting people, approving theft, corruption, and government rents, accepting the continuation of the current economic situation, and approving aid to Hamas terrorists, etc. from the people's pockets.