Khamenei prepares to fabricate astronomical turnout figures for a theatrics widely boycotted by the people
Confrontation and internal power struggle within the Iranian regime on the verge of parliament and the Assembly of Experts elections has escalated in an unprecedented manner with Khamenei planning to eliminate rival faction’s candidates. This comes on the heel of innumerable domestic and external crises engulfing the regime of velayat-e faqih following its adoption of the nuclear accord and its consecutive defeats in Syria.
Meanwhile, as the Iranian people are more than ever boycotting this cheap theatrics, Khamenei is paving the way for astronomical vote rigging in the election and announcing several fold vote counts. He unequivocally told Friday prayer imams: “The important thing about the elections is a maximum turnout. The more that participate in the elections, the more the credibility and strength of the system and the country… Thanks to God, the elections are open and it earns the country honor and credibility abroad; in the international climate, this election is truly a source of credibility and honor. Therefore, the election itself is a very important matter and a great blessing. Some enjoy beating constantly on the drums of doubtful-elections. This is a very bad habit; a bad sickness. The election is sound… There is no organized fraud… [no one] should come out and claim that there was treason in these elections or we had vote rigging… the elections have been healthy in all periods” (Khamenei’s website – January 4, 2016).
On January 5, state media quoted Ahmad Jannati, a close associate of Khamenei and the Secretary of the Guardian Council, as saying: Some candidates for the Assembly of Experts “are gamblers and drink alcohol and the morality of some is questionable. Some wear suits and some are women. Those who are the losers in the political arena are looking to once again sit in the parliament. To secure a majority in the Assembly of Experts, these people bring their moles to this assembly; or if not, they form a powerful, vocal minority to disrupt the Assembly of Experts and to constantly stonewall the majority. If, God forbid, they succeed in so doing, they are planning to introduce the issue of a leadership council. To raise the issue of a leadership council is very bad and ugly. There is power when we have just one leader; otherwise, power will be divided between several people.”
Meanwhile, in an inimical measure, the “Struggling Scholars’ Community” and the “Struggling Clergy Community” that belong to Khamenei’s faction, crossed out Rafsanjani’s name from their list of candidates for the Assembly of Experts (Fars News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC – January 6, 2016). Rafsanjani was usually included in the lists of these two groups.
In his remarks to the Friday prayer imams Khamenei said: “If he is someone unrighteous, then don’t let him in… Anywhere that there is election, if we have someone that is incompetent but we turn a blind eye… this is to forgo the right of the people; to ruin the right of the people; this is against the right of the people.”
Meanwhile, he expressed his dread of a recurrence of the 2009 uprising and by emphasizing that “all should accept the outcome of the elections” noted: “In 2009 they stated a deprecated notion that there was fraud and thus the election cannot hold… I don’t know when the damages that we incurred in 2009 will be made up for. It still hasn’t been compensated.”
In its midterm meeting held on December 19-20, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) stressed: “The Iranian regime’s sham parliament and Assembly of Experts elections – which much like the other elections in this regime is a tug of war between the adherents to the velayat-e faqih and against the interest of the Iranian people — will be boycotted by the people and all freedom-loving forces of Iran. This theatrics has already turned into a brawl between the rival factions of the ruling class. The main topic of regime’s internal hostilities and the daily warnings of rival leaders reflect the damaged status of the supreme leader on the one hand and the fear of the regime in its entirety from an insurrection and popular uprising due to the rift at the top on the other.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 7, 2016
