A Game without a Public

Many Iranians regard the parliamentary elections in the Islamic Republic as a political farce, since they are intended only to legitimate the power of the mullahs. Ghasen Toulany says that many Iranians see no reason to go to the polls

On Friday, March 14th, Iranians will have the choice between confirming the legitimacy of the existing parliament with its conservative majority, or not bothering to vote at all.

While many opposition figures and dissidents have called for a boycott of the elections, the reformists grouped around the former president Mohammad Khatami are taking part in the poll "in order to do everything to queer the pitch for the conservatives."

Reformists prevented from standing

As Khatami said during a meeting attended by a large number of reform-oriented politicians whose candidacy had been blocked by the Ahmadinejad government or by the Council of Guardians, there were conspiracies afoot which could be blocked by a large turn-out on polling day.

More than 7,500 candidates put themselves up for election on March 14th. Of them, around 3,000 were prevented from standing. Most of them are reformists. That means that there are not even candidates from reform-oriented parties in the majority of the 290 constituencies.

At the most, the reformists will be able to form a "strong minority faction" in what will be the eighth parliament of the Islamic Republic. But to achieve that, there would have to be a high turn-out, which many experts think is unlikely.

Lack of interest and a mood of rejection

There is little evidence of the "euphoria" which had been hoped for before the elections. The Iranian New Year is on March 21st, and many families seem to be more concerned with shopping for the festivities and with the other day-to-day problems in the country, such as the ever increasing level of inflation.

These things appear to be more important than an election in which it is already decided who will be the victors.

A low turn-out, however, will mean an even clearer victory for the conservatives. Their supporters are well organised and go to the polls, above all, out of a sens e of religious duty. That sense of duty led to the conservatives winning over two-thirds of the votes in the elections four years ago. Turn-out then was less than 50 percent.

The current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also came to power in 2005 as a result of a low turn-out.

Expectations disappointed

The fact that the reformers have failed to fulfil their election promises in the last few years has led most of their supporters to become disillusioned with politics. More than 70 percent of Iranians are under thirty. And this majority hoped in vain that the reformists would bring about more freedom and an opening up of the country, both domestically and towards the outside world.

This majority of young people now has no interest in acting as the audience for a game whose result is already certain. Four years ago, the newspaper "Yase No", which has since been banned, described the parliamentary elections as "a game of freedom without a public."

Shortly before, the Iranian national football team had hosted Qatar for a World Cup qualifying match in the Azadi stadium in Tehran, and played before empty stands. "Yase No" was not only referring to the disappointing turn-out for the match, but also to the low turn-out on election day.

But one fact remains: even if the Council of Guardians had not prevented reformists from standing, they would still have scarcely been able to mobilise their voters. Aside from that, by their participation in a parliament which in practice is completely powerless, the reformers would have lost all their credibility among the people.

Controlled competition

But for the conservatives, the idea of an election without any involvement of "moderate reformers" appears problematic. As a result, the Council of Guardians overturned a decision by the interior ministry and has approved the candidacy of a number of reformers - mainly unknown and moderate figures, many of whom are linked to the former speaker of parliament, Mehdi Karubi.

As the Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji of the online-newspaper "Rooz" writes, the participation of these "innocuous reformers" will only serve to give legitimacy to the "religious dictatorship". If they had been completely prevented from standing it would have made the parliamentary elections into a total farce. Iran is, after all, part of the US "axis of evil." Without reformers, Tehran could more easily find itself an American target.

The interesting thing about this election will be whether the participation of the reformers will provide the Ayatollahs with the democratic legitimacy for their system which they so urgently seek, or whether the reformers can queer the pitch for them by winning a significant number of seats.

Ghasem Toulany

Translated from the German by Michael Lawton

Qantara.de

The Assembly of Experts in Iran
Power Struggle at the Top
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been elected the new president of the Assembly of Experts. Can the 73-year-old politician take over the reins again, curb the radicals, and push through a moderate course? Bahman Nirumand reports with the facts

The Spectre of a "Soft Revolution" in Iran
The Government of the Theocracy is Worried
Nothing - neither economic sanctions nor the threat of military action - worries the regime in Tehran more than the fear of a "soft revolution". The Islamic theocracy is showing signs of panic, says Bahman Nirumand

Persecution of Ayatollah Boroujerdi in Iran
The State Fears the Traditional Clergy
The case of the traditionally oriented but politically critical Ayatollah Boroujerdi shows that the alliances among the clerics in Iran are becoming increasingly fragile. The calls for a separation between state and religion are getting louder. By Ghasem Toulany