Iran: Minimal Turnout of Voters; Low Turnout in Most Polling Stations; Massive and Systematic Frauds
NCRI statement
NCRI logo
Written by
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
In addition to the national ID card, voting is possible with the national card, driver’s license, service completion card, and passport. Birth certificates are not stamped after voting, and voting is allowed with photo-less birth certificates. Soldiers, prisoners, and workers in government factories are compelled to vote.
According to reports from hundreds of polling stations in Tehran and various cities across 31 provinces until 12 PM local time, four hours after the start of voting, the number of voters is very few. In some branches, only IRGC members, Basijis, and branch employees have voted, with no public participation.
In many voting stations, individuals’ birth certificates are traded for voting. In some cities like Shiraz, Eqleed Fars, and Maragheh, regime officials or candidates purchase birth certificates or votes for amounts ranging from 5 to 20 million rials.
In many barracks, soldiers are forced to vote, and those who vote are granted four days of leave. In many government factories and prisons, workers and inmates are forced to vote.
Yesterday, the regime’s election headquarters disgracefully declared that having a birth certificate is not mandatory for participating in the elections. Voting is also possible with a national card, driver’s license, service completion card, and passport. The headquarters also stated that the birth certificate does not need to be stamped during voting, and identity verification will be done with the national code. In another deceitful move, the election headquarters announced in its bulletin No. 24 today that individuals with photo-less birth certificates can also vote. This makes it easy for the regime’s agents and hirelings to vote multiple times.
In recent documents exposed from the regime’s parliament, the CEO of the Communications Company wrote in a letter dated January 17, 2024, to Ahmad Vahidi, the regime’s Minister of Interior, with a copy sent to Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Parliament, “A voter with their national card can visit multiple ballot boxes and cast multiple votes.” He preemptively disclaimed any responsibility for the potential consequences of this matter, and added, “Obviously, this operator cannot accept any responsibility for the possible consequences of this issue.”
The embarrassment of the election spectacle is to the extent that, according to the Didaar News website’s report on February 28, Wahab Azizi, the Secretary-General of the “Principled Jihadists” group from the Khamenei band, said: “…it seems they want to bring in a group of obedient sheep. Those who are pursuing this project want a weak parliament that remains silent, and they prefer bureaucratic figures.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
1 March 2024