MEK Iran: Dissidents Call for Election Boycott

Iranian dissidents who don’t support the hard-line regime in Tehran are telling their fellow citizens not to cast their votes in the elections coming up next week. Instead of doing this they are urging them to overthrow what they referred to as a struggling regime.

Maryam Rajavi, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) President-elect, said that boycotting the sham elections is a patriotic thing to do as it bonds the Iranian people with their martyrs. He was referring in particular to the 1,500+ martyrs of the November uprising. This boycott supports the demands of the people and students who rose up in January with the intention of overthrowing the entire illegitimate regime of the absolute clerical rule.

#Iran is about to face the latest parliamentary election. The Supreme Leader of the #Iranian regime will be welcoming these elections because it gives him an opportunity to oust all those that oppose himhttps://t.co/bWGz1S5a5D#BoycottIranShamElections @USAdarFarsi #MEK pic.twitter.com/PoVFvpMlgr

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) February 14, 2020

Iranian elections to take place on Friday

Iran is holding elections on coming Friday to elect the next 290-seat Iranian parliament. It has been less than two months since Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. strike, which alarmed the regime but boosted its dissidents. Following the strike, the Trump Administration initiated a new wave of sanctions.

Many banned from standing in the election

It was reported by AFP that the Guardian Council, which has the responsibility for vetting candidates, has barred more than 50 percent of the 14,444 people who were eager to stand in the election from taking part. Included are several candidates who are reformists and more moderate. The outlet went on to report that lots of voters are now having to face the choice of either casting their votes for hardliners or not bothering to vote at all. The election result could favor Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s conservative rivals, who could gain the seats they need.

A report from the BBC stated that any candidate who is from one of the groups who oppose the Islamic Republic or are seeking to change the system are excluded from running by the Council.

Activism is on the rise say Iranians

Activists are saying that Iranians are not apathetic at all, but intend to boycott the election. Kaveh, an activist from Tehran, stated that the Iranian people are eager to overthrow what he referred to as a “corrupt and criminal regime.”

Freedom-loving Iranians & PMOI/MEK supporters rallying in Amsterdam against the regime's farce Majlis (parliament) elections scheduled for February 21.
The demonstrators were chanting, "My vote regime change" in #Iran by the people of Iran.#FreeIran2020 pic.twitter.com/tkzC6XP4yp

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 15, 2020

In a recent text message, Kaveh said essentially that the public takes part in elections to elect a democratic government. This is because the public has confidence in its democratic processes and structure. He added that because the Iranian government is fascist, people no longer have confidence in the regime. In fact, they despise it. The government is wrongly calling it an election, but it is pretending to the world that it is legitimate.

Activism appears to be increasing, as is public anger at the current theocratic regime, especially because the economy is under immense pressure due to the U.S. sanctions that have been forced on the country by the Trump administration as part of what’s called a “maximum pressure” campaign since 2008 when the U.S. pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Brutal crackdown last November

In November, tensions erupted, resulting in thousands of Iranians demonstrating against the regime. This led to a brutal crackdown from Tehran that resulted in between 1,000 and 1,500 people being killed while thousands ended up in prison. In January, there were more protests due to the regime admitting that it took responsibility for the downing of a passenger jet during a period of heightened tension with the U.S. following the unexpected death of Soleimani.

End of the current regime not far off

Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK Iran) has already stated that the regime appears to be showing signs of weakening, in spite of the crackdown on who is eligible to take part in the elections. Opponents are viewing this as proof that the end is nearing.

Rajavi said that today, Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, is making an attempt to cram the backward-looking parliament with loyalists. This is due to the fact he sees that by closing ranks this is the solution for dealing with the present crisis. Whether he succeeds or not, it has got to the point now that the clerical regime doesn’t have any way out and cannot hold off being overthrown for much longer.