MEK Iran: Iranian Regime Begged Public to Abandon Boycott of Election

Yesterday, as Iranians had vowed to participate in a boycott of the regime’s so-called “elections”, they boycotted the mullah’s sham election. The parliamentary elections were turning into the latest crisis for the regime the world witnessed a great majority of Iranians, in particular, the youth and women did not cast their votes.

The election process in Iran is a shambles and is more of a selection process because all candidates are vetted, approved or eliminated by the powerful Guardian Council. Twelve members sit on the Guardian Council – half of them are appointed directly by the Supreme Leader and the other half are appointed by the country’s head of the judiciary (who it must be pointed out was also hand-picked by the Supreme Leader).

An excellent read on #Iran Election by Amb. @GiulioTerzi: Regime’s Sham Elections Are Undemocratic https://t.co/nSJTToYYyv#BoycottIranShamElections#MyVoteRegimeChange

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) February 21, 2020

Yesterday Parliamentary elections were just as corrupt as previous elections, if not more so. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has eliminated those that are in the opposite faction to his.

Realizing that the boycott of the election could be disastrous for the regime, officials for the past few days have been urging the public to come to the polling stations.

Even President Hassan Rouhani who recently described the election process as a “selection” had backtracked on his comments, claiming that his words were taken out of context and that the selection process he was referring to was related to a different time in history. He denied that he was talking about the most recent elections in Iran.

The notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had also been working towards getting people to abandon the boycott. Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Brigadier General Mohammad Baqeri, and several other IRGC officials released statements saying that the people of Iran have a responsibility to vote because the more people that turn out, the bigger a blow it would be to America.

Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, echoed these comments, saying that a huge turnout at the polling stations will show the United States that its maximum pressure policy has failed to have an effect.

The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also called on the people of Iran to abandon the boycott because it would increase the likelihood of a war with the West. He also said that it is the religious duty of the people to vote.

The opposition to the Iranian regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK Iran), has highlighted that the regime’s desperation is evident to see. President-elect of the NCRI Mrs. Maryam Rajavi has said that the regime’s appeals to the public are doing nothing but making the people even more determined to proceed with the boycott.

#Iran's Sham Election-LIVE UPDATE
Reports show a massive nationwide boycott of regime's sham Majlis(parliamentary)elections. Only security forces are seen leaving the polling station.https://t.co/bHOtgPPANP#MyVoteRegimeChange#BoycottIranShamElectionshttps://t.co/ecri9ggVIF

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 21, 2020

The people have been taking to the streets saying that their vote is the overthrow of the regime. They have been denouncing the velayat-e faqih system or absolute rule of the mullahs.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi describes the situation well when she said that the people of Iran see the boycott of the elections as their “patriotic duty”.