Iran Begins Voting in Presidential Election with Limited Choices
Editor
28 June 2024 17:58 WIB
DIVIDED VOTERS
A hardline watchdog body made up of six clerics and six jurists aligned with Khamenei vets candidates. It approved just six from an initial pool of 80. Two hardline candidates subsequently dropped out.
Prominent among the remaining hardliners are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, parliament speaker and former commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who served for four years in Khamenei's office.
All four candidates have vowed to revive the flagging economy, beset by mismanagement, state corruption, and sanctions re-imposed since 2018 after the United States ditched Tehran's 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers.
"I think Jalili is the only candidate who raised the issue of justice, fighting corruption and giving value to the poor ... Most importantly he does not link Iran's foreign policy to the nuclear deal," said Farzan Sadjadi, a 45-year-old artist in the city of Karaj.
The sole comparative moderate, Massoud Pezeshkian, is faithful to Iran's theocratic rule but advocates detente with the West, economic reform, social liberalization, and political pluralism.
His chances hinge on reviving the enthusiasm of reform-minded voters who have largely stayed away from the polls for the last four years after previous pragmatist presidents brought little change. He could also benefit from his rivals' failure to consolidate the hardline vote.
“I feel Pezeshkian represents both traditional and liberal thoughts,” said architect Pirouz, 45, who had decided "to boycott the vote until he learned more about Pezeshkian's plans".
In the past few weeks, Iranians have made wide use of the hashtag #ElectionCircus on X, with some activists at home and abroad calling for an election boycott, saying a high turnout would legitimize the Islamic Republic.
REUTERS
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