Presidential Election in Iran
The discussions about the upcoming presidential election in Iran is warming up in Iranian (Farsi) Blogs. Apparently for now, US is silent about Iran till the election results are clear. It is not really clear which one is going to be the main factor for US policy after the election: The elected president, or the election turn out?
The main discussion about Iranian youth on the blogs is that should we stick with the policy of picking the bad option (vs. a worse) option and vote againt for a reformist candidate who seem to be at best an quivalent of Mr. Khatami. Or should we stick to the policy of boycotting the election like the recent parliamentary election where about 30% took part and resulted in formation of the most backward and destructive parliament since the 1979 revolution. There are many other issues that come at the middle of these discussions. For example, there is a large chance that the reformist candidate does not even pass the Guardian Council's filter of qualification. Or even if he does, the transparency of the election and fraud prevention is not guaranteed. One problem that historically exist in Iranian elections (both before and after the revolution) is the the fact that people's participation in the election is shown as a measure of general approval for the regime and establishment. Even if people go and vote for the disqualified opposition or vote white, the regime and the media look at the turn out in a different way. The combination of all these factors plus more , makes many Iranian youths sensitive about the choice of voting this time. We still have quite a bit of time to decide. And generally Iranians are the last minute nation. At this point I try to listen and critique different groups of people in these discussion and reflect them here for you.
The main discussion about Iranian youth on the blogs is that should we stick with the policy of picking the bad option (vs. a worse) option and vote againt for a reformist candidate who seem to be at best an quivalent of Mr. Khatami. Or should we stick to the policy of boycotting the election like the recent parliamentary election where about 30% took part and resulted in formation of the most backward and destructive parliament since the 1979 revolution. There are many other issues that come at the middle of these discussions. For example, there is a large chance that the reformist candidate does not even pass the Guardian Council's filter of qualification. Or even if he does, the transparency of the election and fraud prevention is not guaranteed. One problem that historically exist in Iranian elections (both before and after the revolution) is the the fact that people's participation in the election is shown as a measure of general approval for the regime and establishment. Even if people go and vote for the disqualified opposition or vote white, the regime and the media look at the turn out in a different way. The combination of all these factors plus more , makes many Iranian youths sensitive about the choice of voting this time. We still have quite a bit of time to decide. And generally Iranians are the last minute nation. At this point I try to listen and critique different groups of people in these discussion and reflect them here for you.
posted by Mahaan @ 3:11 PM
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