Some people in Iran refrain from using the term “free elections.” Instead, they talk about “elections.” But in today’s world, all dictators too organize elections and present themselves as winners of 90 percent of the votes and stay in power for life. Just look at Saddam, Mubarak or Hafez Assad. The Iranian regime of course has found a simpler way of doing this: reaffirmation of the supreme leader for life through the Assembly of Experts on Leadership, a body whose members are chosen by none other than the leader himself. And also through the disqualification of many politicians through the Guardians Council, whose members are also installed by the leader. In this way, the leader emerges as the man with absolute knowledge and powers to make all the decisions. And this is how dictatorship becomes institutionalized. All dictators flee from free elections and portray such elections as a Western ploy.
The conditions for participating in elections however should be its free nature. National sovereignty lies in the will of the people. Participating in non-free elections only provides legitimacy to the regime, without bringing any benefits to the public. In our case, people have for years been participating in non-free elections in the hope of changes from the top and inside. Or they left the regime to elect whoever it wanted. Or they chose the “bad from amongst the worst”. But no matter what they did the result was the same: the current clerical despotism. Today the ruling despots have even rejected the “bad” amongst themselves (reformists inside the regime), calling them agents of imperialists. So only the “worst” remain. And now we hear that they want to distribute the Majlis seats among themselves in advance, provide a list to the public and ask them to vote for them. With reformists out of their way and pre-determined candidates from various inside groups, they can announce huge victories easier than before and pretend that millions voted for the velayat faghih. The battle for the seats is not over yet and continues relentlessly. The Principlists are concerned that Ahmadinejad may do to them what he did to the reformists particularly as it has come to light that billions of Toman have been stolen and can be used, like in the past, to buy people’s votes. In addition to this, there is a draft resolution before the Majlis which if passed would allow representatives to be punished or removed from office if they are critical. How could such a forum be called a parliament? The only path left to the Green Movement and reformists is to actively confront the elections through launching movements that call for real free elections as a way to exert pressure on the despotic regime from the bottom.
The definition of a free election is clear. Every person has the right and opportunity to participate in it. The conditions for free elections are clear too; they call for the release of all political prisoners, end of dictatorial supervision, end of the interference of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij in the elections, a free media, gatherings, formation of parties and syndicates, and the provision of the necessary security and safety for the participation of all groups, religious or non, supporters or critics. Because of the past, international supervision of elections is also necessary. Such conditions need time to take root and cannot be created just a few days prior to elections, particularly as the regime has outlawed the two main reformist parties and has shut the offices of the Etemad Melli party. There is no question that the political issue in Iran is structural and so long as religion is not separated from politics and the leader-for-life arrangement is not ended, the political issue will remain. Free elections are the least costly way to bring Iran out of its current dead end. But one should not be surprised if the regime decides to call free elections a ploy by imperialists and the US to overthrow the regime.
Iran today is in a post-government reform phase. In other words the days when things could be fixed from the top, through orders and dictates, etc are over. The approach that reformists took during Mohammad Khatami’s presidency and the sixth Majlis failed because of this and their policies of toleration and inaction resulted in the birth of Ahmadinejad and the military-security regime that we now face. The reform movement then rose to the Green Movement which calls for freedom and democracy through a social movement. So, confronting the elections and calls for free elections should give the movement a new impetus.
As is evident in the Green Movement, people today trust those reformists who echo their calls and demands against dictatorship and velayat faghih. People are moving away from those who are still entertaining the idea of reconciliation with the dictatorial regime or providing legitimacy to Khamenei. During the reform period, reformists faced the growing student movement, and those of women, teachers, thinkers, etc whom they tried to silence. In contrast, the many reformists in the Green movement stand along the millions of protesting people who are rejecting the results of the 2009 presidential election. This should continue.
Boycotting the Elections or Confronting It
Non-participation is a passive act that confuses people and leaving them prey to the propaganda and threats of the regime, driving some concerned citizens to the polls. What should be announced today is not non-participation of the elections or boycotting it, but actively confronting it. Leaving this decision to the 11th hour is giving opportunists the field to do their work. Confronting the elections should be announced today with the call that people would participate only in free elections. The conditions that constitute free elections then should be repeatedly reiterated. This issue should not be left to the last moments of the election day. Today, a number of Islamic countries have a discourse on freedom so why not Iran whose people launched a huge revolution to achieve. We must move ahead with a very clear policy and single goal. The weakness of the Iranian civil and pro-democracy movement, i.e., absence of leadership and organization, will be addressed through this policy. This way, the Green Movement too will show its continued existence. People should take this message across the country through slogans, web messages, social networks, etc before the regime tries to buy off some.
Just like some prominent reformists who are imprisoned are calling on the public to participate only in free elections others should be clarifying this message and spreading it around. Waiting to be given permission to reformists to participate in the elections is nothing but an insult. The regime has decided to keep the elections closed and create a “yes-man” parliament. A dictatorial regime only responds to pressure from people. And just like the “Where is my vote” call that people raised in the streets immediately after the announcement of the fake victory in the 2009 presidential race, today too they must act in that spirit and light.
