EDITORIAL: Boycott of Iran Regime’s Farce Election, a Turning Point Towards Regime Change by the People of Iran

Written by Staff Writer

On Friday, February 21, 2020, the Iranian people overwhelmingly rejected the clerical regime by refusing to participate in the sham Parliamentary election despite intimidation and repeated calls by the regime’s officials.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, had called on the Iranian people to boycott the farce election. She said: The boycott of the sham election is a patriotic duty and the bond of the Iranian people with their martyrs, especially the over 1,500 martyrs of the November uprising.

Maryam Rajavi
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@Maryam_Rajavi
The boycott of the sham elections is a patriotic duty and the bond of the Iranian people with their martyrs, especially the over 1,500 martyrs of the November uprising. #Iran #FreeIran2020 #BoycottIranShamElections

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18:28 – 18 Feb 2020
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She further stated that: Iranian people cast their true vote during the November 2019 and January 2020 uprisings with chants of “Death to the principle of the velayat-e faqih, death to Khamenei and Rouhani.”

Reliable reports based on physical monitoring as well as analyzing different official figures announced during the day of the election show that more than 90% of the eligible voters refused to cast their vote. This is a major humiliation for the regime.

The Fars News Agency, affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), quoted Interior Ministry officials as saying that only 1.9 million people had voted in Tehran. That means that notwithstanding the several-fold-inflation of figures, less than 20 percent of the eligible voters had cast their ballot in the capital.

The regime’s top officials including Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani had repeatedly called on the people to participate in the election. Khamenei even went as far as calling it a mandatory “religious duty.”

“Election is a popular jihad; strengthens the country and safeguards the system’s legitimacy. Presence in the election and voting is a religious duty, a religious edict… Whoever likes the system must take part in the election,” Khamenei emphasized.

Rouhani had repeatedly appealed for voting. His advisors had warned people not to snub the ballot box, as it would make America happy and increase Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) activities. The IRGC and the regime’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had called for defeating the policy of ‘maximum pressure’ with maximum participation. Not only did all these futile attempts fail to have any impact, but to the contrary, they intensified the people’s disgust at the theft of popular sovereignty through this illegitimate election and strengthened their resolve to boycott this charade.

Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi said: “The election is an important issue. Whoever whose heart is in this system… must perform well in carrying out their duty in this regard. Whoever, with whatever motive undermines this election, knowingly or unknowingly, wittingly or unwittingly, would be in the enemy’s camp by weakening the election.”

The speaker at the Friday Prayers in Tehran said: “Not participating in the election weakens the regime. It is religiously forbidden. For eligible voters, participation is a Sharia-dictated and divine duty. It is a must, which everyone should perform like prayers.”

Following Mrs. Rajavi’s call to boycott the sham election, a nationwide campaign was launched by supporters of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). Her call to boycott the election was written on walls in Tehran and several dozen cities across the country. Resistance Units of the MEK posted photos and messages of Mrs. Rajavi on major intersections.

Rebellious Youth in many cities torched election posters and destroyed a number of candidates’ election headquarters. Simultaneously, a major campaign was launched on the internet which further spread Mrs. Rajavi’s call for the boycott.

After two days of confusion and fabrication of bogus figures, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the regime’s Minister of Interior, announced that 42.5 percent had voted in the election. To justify the sparse turnout, Rahmani Fazli said: “Given the political situation and such issues as the crash of the (Ukrainian) airliner, the incidents in November (2019) and January (2020), and under these circumstances, this level of presence and participation by the people is totally acceptable.”

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), congratulated the Iranian people for the nationwide boycott of the sham election by the ruling religious fascism. Mrs. Rajavi added that the failure of the regime to intimidate people to go to the polls reflects the Iranian people’s homage to the 1,500 martyrs of the November 2019 uprising and portends of subsequent uprisings. This unprecedented boycott was a resounding “no” to Khamenei, Rouhani and the entirety of the clerical regime and showed the public’s enthusiasm for the Resistance Units’ slogan of “my vote is overthrow.”

Maryam Rajavi
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@Maryam_Rajavi
The failure of the regime to intimidate people to go to the polls reflects the Iranian people’s homage to the 1,500 martyrs of the November 2019 uprising and portends of subsequent uprisings #IranProtests #FreeIran2020https://www.maryam-rajavi.com/en/item/maryam-rajavi-general-boycott-sham-election-iranian-people-religious-fascismoverthrow …

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The complete boycott of regime’s farce election by the people of Iran is a turning point, and it is a clear testament of the Iranian people’s desire for regime change. The outcome of the sham election will aggravate the regime’s internal feuding and deadly impasse and expedite its overthrow by the Iranian people and Resistance.

The world community must recognize the right of the Iranian people and Resistance to overthrow the clerical regime and establish democracy and people’s sovereignty.