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Iranwire – Over 275 prominent political and civil activists in Iran have announced they will boycott upcoming parliamentary elections, citing the “deplorable” state of the electoral system, and condemning the “deadlock of reforms,” the “complete elimination of critics,” and the “widespread disqualification of candidates.”
The signatories of the February 25 joint statement said these factors, along with the lack of diverse political voices, undermined the legitimacy of the elections.
Despite repeated public interventions by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the importance of participating in the elections, many political figures outside Iran, and some inside the country, have chosen the boycott.
Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate, joined the boycott by issuing a message in which she said, from inside her prison cell, that “The Islamic Republic deserves national sanctions and global condemnation.”
Mohammadi’s message, shared on her Instagram account, added that “boycotting the elections of the dictatorial religious regime is not just a political imperative but also a moral duty for those seeking freedom and justice in Iran.”
Voters are due to cast their ballots on March 1 to pick new members of the 290-seat legislature from among 15,200 candidates who have been approved by Iran’s hardline Guardian Council.
The number of candidates is more than double those allowed to stand in the previous elections, in 2020, when voter turnout was at its lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution at just over 42 percent.
