Conservatives form a unified list in Tehran to continue controlling parliament
Main wings of the Iranian conservative movement agreed to present a unified list in the capital, Tehran, to run in the legislative elections scheduled for next Friday, amid the escalation of the campaign led by the authorities to increase turnout at the ballot boxes.
Government news agencies and Revolutionary Guard media reported on Sunday that the Revolutionary Forces Alliance Committee, the faction of the current parliament speaker, Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf, and the extremist Baydari (Resilience) Front agreed to present a unified list that includes candidates from both wings, in an attempt to replicate Their control over 30 complexes in the capital, Tehran, and its suburbs, in the Iranian Parliament.
The list is headed by Qalibaf, a former commander in the Revolutionary Guards, along with the head of the Baydari Front, the extremist cleric, Morteza Agha Tehrani, who is a member of the current parliament.
The Tasnim Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, quoted the spokesman for the Revolutionary Forces Alliance Committee, Ibrahim Rasouli, as saying that the joint list is “final.” In turn, the spokesman for the “Baydari Front” said that the two parties “discussed negative and positive issues, before arriving at a unified list,” and two joint presidents.
Last week, reports indicated that the electoral district of Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf had been changed from Tehran to his hometown. The city of Mashhad, which did not actually happen, by confirming that he remained at the top of the list of governors in Tehran.
Last week, some figures of the conservative movement expressed their fears about the multiplicity of electoral lists, which would raise the chances of independent candidates, or those affiliated with the coalition of moderates and conservatives.
Morteza Agha Tehrani mediates with representatives from the extremist “Baydari” bloc on the sidelines of a parliamentary session (IRNA)
The confirmation of Ghalibaf’s candidacy from Tehran came at a time when a member of his list, MP Mohsen Dahnawi, announced his agreement with his allies to withdraw from the list, after information leaked about him receiving a bribe from the head of an Iranian factory with the aim of facilitating his transactions.
Dahnawi had obtained membership in Parliament after the American authorities deported him in July 2017. Because of his association with the Student Basij. Dahnawi then obtained a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The authorities’ campaign to increase participation escalated, fearing a record reluctance to turn out at the ballot boxes, as a result of public dissatisfaction with the country’s administration and the deteriorating economic situation as a result of US sanctions.
These are the first elections that the country is witnessing, after the massive popular protests that shook the majority of the 31 Iranian provinces following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was detained by the morality police, on the grounds of wearing a bad hijab, in September 2022.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Sunday that he hopes to “form a strong parliament to support the people and help the government.” He added: “I believe that problems in various fields can be solved with the services of the government and the support of the people. We are determined to thwart the enemies.”
In turn, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian considered that any vote cast by voters in the elections “raises Iran’s flag in international spheres.”
“The specter of reformists”
The main parties in the reformist movement tend to distance themselves from the elections, after rejecting their main candidates and meeting their demands to engage in the political process. However, in recent days, the former conservative MP, supported by moderates, Ali Motahhari, announced the creation of the “Sadai Mellat (Voice of the People)” list. His list includes some reformists, moderates, and independent candidates.
Last week, prominent activists from the reformist movement directed harsh criticism at a statement signed by 110 reformist activists, some of whom reside outside Iran, and whose statement called for participation in the elections. The government media’s interest in republishing the statement caught the attention of observers.
Iranian women cross the street in front of a banner bearing posters of parliamentary election candidates in Tehran on Saturday
Motahhari returned to run after the authorities refused to allow him to run in the previous parliamentary elections, and later in the presidential elections. Motahhari received the attention of the Revolutionary Guard media, and a press conference is scheduled to be held on Monday at the headquarters of the Tasnim Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard.
Motahhari said: “Some of those who say: We must remove this regime and establish another regime are delusional.” He added: “We must not abandon the revolution that we did not achieve easily.” He continued: “Overthrowing the regime is not that simple. We must strive to reform the regime. We must not run away from elections and candidacy.”
Motahhari continued, “In the current sensitive situation, the level of participation is of utmost importance to Westerners, for a country like Iran… It is certain that a decline in the participation rate will lead to them not going to the negotiating table, or seeking to obtain more privileges, but high participation will give us the upper hand in Negotiations”; In reference to the negotiations aimed at reviving the nuclear agreement, which were halted without progress during the past two years.
‘Lukewarm campaign’
Iranian websites quoted Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper and representative of the Iranian leader, as saying to state television that “the enemy is mobilizing all its strength so that people do not participate in the elections.” He added: “Boying the ballot boxes and not participating in the elections is cooperating with the enemies.”
However, Shariatmadari said: “When people see the Minister of Housing bragging that he did not open a housing project, or the Minister who held the Ministry of Energy for years saying, ‘We do not build power plants, despite power outages,’ or the Oil Minister describing the establishment of oil refineries as dirty work, or the Minister of Agriculture.” Those who consider self-sufficiency to be a ridiculous act, and this is applied in practice, naturally this will have an impact on the people who voted in the elections, but it warns that they are not what is wanted.”
Shariatmadari pointed out that the Guardian Council, the body supervising the implementation of the elections, approved the nomination requests of 15 candidates, pointing out that “every 51 candidates are competing for one seat.” He added: “There are candidates from all parties and trends, so there is room, but the fear of not getting votes should not be put at the expense of the lack of candidates.”
He continued: “Different political parties are present in the elections, and the Secretary-General of one of the reformist parties said that these parties have a candidate in all parts of the country.”
Shopping begins in preparation for Nowruz in the Tehran bazaar on Saturday (AFP)
Referring to the lukewarm election campaign, Shariatmadari said: “If the circumstances and conditions of the elections are not as you imagine, there are different reasons for that. One of them is that the Radio and Television Corporation announced channels, and the candidates prefer to follow their propaganda campaign through these channels or social media networks, which is why we no longer see banners and posters in the streets, as before.”
But he added: “I also agree that the election atmosphere is not as hot as it should be, and there are reasons for this, including the many efforts made by foreign and hostile media, fueled by some of us, and one of the reasons is some dissatisfaction, which is due, in particular, to the living and economic conditions.” .
Shariatmadari said, “The enemy is mobilizing all its strength to prevent people from participating in the elections, and resorts to various pretexts in order to achieve its goals. Therefore, non-participation is tantamount to opening corridors for the enemy, in the words of General Qasem Soleimani.” He continued: “The enemy is desperately seeking to create a rift in national unity in order to move within it.”
Election campaigns began last Thursday. Some video clips have been circulated on Telegram over the past two days, showing singing and dancing parties to the beat of pop songs chanted by local artists, in some candidate headquarters across the country, which are usually repeated in Iranian elections.
“The Awaited Mahdi”
The Iranian election campaign coincides with celebrations attributed to the birth of the Awaited Mahdi in Iran. Influential clerics linked the legislative elections to the religious occasion.
Muhammad Jawad Haj Ali Akbari, the Friday imam of Tehran and representative of the Iranian leader, described participation in the elections, saying: “In order to register the names in the ranks of those loyal to the Awaited Mahdi, we must shake the banner of the Mahdi with strong participation.”
The influential cleric, Ali Reza Panahyan, who is known for his religious sermons, said, “The elections are the people’s way to help and accompany the Awaited Mahdi.” He added: “For those who want to help the Imam in the era of occultation, the elections represent a dimension of social responsibility.”
The deterioration of the living and economic conditions casts a shadow over the Iranian carpet trade in the Tehran bazaar on Saturday (AFP)
In turn, the head of the Qom Seminary school complex, Hashem Hosseini Bushahri, said, “The people’s vote will satisfy the Awaited Mahdi.” He added: “Some problems are still on the ground and have nothing to do with the outside world. Issues such as water and youth unemployment are not issues that can be solved from abroad.”
The spokesman for the Guardian Council, Hadi Tahan Nazif, wrote on the “X” platform, “The emergence of the Mahdi is reflected in the Iranian Constitution as one of the goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a goal that can be achieved, tomorrow, so soon.”
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2024-02-26 13:03:54
