Mehrdad Bayan
Iran's largest student organization, Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami [also known as Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat] has issued a statement ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. Rooz has conducted an exclusive interview with the organization's spokesperson, Abdollah Momeni. Below is the text of this interview.
Rooz (R): Mr. Momeni, what captures our attention more than anything else in the statement issued by Sazman-e Danesh-Amookhtegan is this phrase: "A Majlis whose representatives have been selected beforehand has so little importance that political groups need not discuss whether or not to participation in elections for it." What do you mean by this?
Abdollah Momeni (AM): To answer this question, before anything else, we have to look at the essence of these elections. Look, we are dealing with elections that you can hardly call "elections." Just as the reformist coalition has officially announced, the results of most races have already been determined. Using the [Guardian Council's] disqualification tool, the regime has effectively engineered the elections in a way that people's participation or non-participation does not have much effect on the outcome. Either way, in most precincts the regime's chosen candidates will find their way into the Majlis. After all, elections have certain meaning and characteristics. When there is no competition in two-thirds of the precincts, the results of most races have been predetermined, and people's participation can produce no change in Majlis' predetermined composition, then what elections are we talking about, and how can we take a position regarding whether or not to participate in them?
R: So will your organization participate in the elections or not? Are you boycotting the elections?
AM: Look, the discussion over whether to participate or boycott the elections finds meaning in a particular context, where these options are available as tools for change. For instance, in the ninth presidential election, this discussion was meaningful, because even though many candidates were disqualified and the elections weren't fully democratic, a minimal level of competition was maintained. Therefore, boycott meant something. However, the context of the eight Majlis elections is very different. In this context, because of the absence of an effective pressure mechanism and the meaninglessness of participation, boycott or participation are meaningless. In other words, elections that are not really elections, and actually serve to undermine the true essence of elections, are meaningless. Political groups that strive for democracy and do not feel indebted or obliged to the regime cannot meaningfully discuss whether they should participate or boycott the elections.
R: Does that mean you will completely ignore the upcoming elections?
AM: From the point of view of taking an official position with respect to participation or boycott, yes. However, ignoring the elections does not imply that we have no opinions on this issue. Elections are the building blocks of democracy. We are protesting the lack of freedom and fairness in the elections and the trend of disqualifications, although I personally believe that such protests are to no avail because of the regime's present structure. Furthermore, given that very few reformist candidates have been qualified, and that the elections' administrators are connected to the administration and the possibility of interference of military and paramilitary forces, one has to doubt the integrity of the elections as well. What is so far evident is that those who have hope in the election must doubt their integrity.
