ASIA/IRAN - Tomorrow elections in Iran. Turnout uncertain: women and youth expected to stay at home

Thursday, 19 February 2004

Teheran (Fides Service) - Iran prepares for elections tomorrow, 20 February, in an atmosphere of deep uncertainty. Most reform parties have said they will desert the vote. Several reform party members have called for the vote to be boycotted and 679 of the candidates admitted by the Council of Guardians have withdrawn. International observers expect a low turnout also because of widespread disaffection for politics. Government representatives expect 30% of eligible voters to take part. In Teheran the percentage is expected to be as low as 10%.
The Council of Guardians, not elected conservative body, excluded almost one third of the candidates from the election leaving a list of 5,625. Yesterday dozens of reform members not admitted sent a letter to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insinuating that after asking the Guardians to re-examine candidatures, the regime leader himself is in favour of the boycott. Forecasts with regard to the number of Iranians who will go to vote appear in all the newspapers with very different figures but in general much lower than the percentage of voters registered at the last presidential and parliamentary elections when popular participation was sustained by hope for democratic reforms promised by president Mohammad Khatami. And some opinion differ even with regard to the number of eligible voters.
The interior ministry says that a little over 46 million are called to vote on Friday. According to some newspapers linked with conservative circles, Iranians with the right to vote are only 42 million. Members of the reformer wing say that voters are more than 48 million. So in the first case participation will appear higher and in the second, lower.
In previous elections the turnout was 60% for parliamentary elections in 1988 and 55% in presidential elections in 1989 won by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. During parliamentary elections in 1992, 69% voted whereas for presidential elections in 1993, when Rafsanjani was re-elected, less people voted, only 50%. When the regime opened to democracy more people went to vote. For parliamentary elections in 1996, 68% voted. The presidential vote in 1997 obtained the highest percentage in the last decade thanks to the participation in the vote of vast areas of society who were indifferent towards the regime. Those elections registered a turnout of 80%; Mohammad Khatami president today was elected on the basis of a programme of democratic reforms. To be remembered municipal elections in 1999, the first local elections in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, when 60% of the eligible voters went to the polls
For the last elections 70% voted in parliamentary elections in 2000, 67% in presidential elections in 2001, which re-confirmed Khatami. The municipal elections in 2003, 50% was the overall national level but in the large cities the numbers dropped, people were disappointed by the block on the reform process. In Teheran not even 15% voted. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 19/2/2004, righe 42 parole 531 )


Share: