Iran Elections; Khamenei Forbids Blank Voting, Increases in Election Boycott Statements

In response to a question about casting a "blank vote" in elections, the Leader of the Islamic Republic has issued a fatwa stating that this type of vote "is forbidden if it weakens the Islamic system."

This fatwa by Ali Khamenei was published in the latest issue of the Hezbollah Line magazine at a time when the decline in public participation has become a major concern for government officials, and the Leader of the Islamic Republic, in a speech a few days ago, called on everyone to participate in the elections.

The Hezbollah Line is an online weekly magazine published by the Publication Office of the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran's presidential elections are scheduled to be held on June 18, and according to some polls, the turnout in these elections is estimated to be less than 40 percent, which is the lowest turnout since the victory of the 1979 revolution.

Calls for an "active and targeted" boycott of the elections have spread in an unprecedented manner during this period, and over the past months, some opposition and critical institutions and figures of the Islamic Republic inside and outside Iran have emphasized the boycott of the elections in various statements.

Following these political calls, 150 political, civil, and trade union activists inside and outside the country issued a statement on Sunday, June 6, boycotting the "show-off elections."

The statement states that "despite the current deep internal and external crises, the atmosphere of this election period is more dramatic and prescriptive than in the past, and in a general freeze, and from now on it will be doomed to a humiliating defeat."

The statement also warns about the "bipolar trend of oppressive rule and rebellious and rebellious people," and states that the Iranian people have so far tried all peaceful ways, from the ballot box to trusting reformist attitudes and actions, and after their failure, they have found a solution in protest, strikes, and strengthening protest movements.

Previously, a number of families of those who have been killed in prisons, on the streets, and in the skies of Iran over the past three decades by the Islamic Republic's judicial or security agents had called for a boycott of the presidential election as part of the "Vote Without a Vote" campaign.

Declining distrust in the ballot boxes and the Islamic Republic government, widespread poverty and widespread dissatisfaction among the people with the economic, political, and social situation, continued security clashes, widespread and bloody suppression of popular protests, especially in November 2019, cover-up of the downing of the Ukrainian plane by the IRGC, mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, and widespread disqualification of candidates are among the reasons that have been put forward to reduce public support and defend boycotting the elections.

Source: Radio Farda