The sham legislative election of the clerical regime is set to take place on Friday, February 21, 2020. Ms. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, called for a boycott of the elections as a “patriotic duty” and emphasized that the Iranian people have cast their true vote in the November 2019 and January 2020 uprisings with chants of “Death to the principle of the velayat-e faqih - Death to Khamenei.”
The Iranian people have cast their real vote during the November 2019 and January 2020 uprisings. And on this basis, the people will boycott the mullahs’ illegitimate parliamentary elections more than ever before #Iran #FreeIran2020 #BoycottIranShamElections pic.twitter.com/wCvkywo6fk
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 17, 2020
Following this call, all across Iran people have expressed that they will boycott the election. A state opinion poll published in the regime’s own media acknowledged that 76 percent of Tehran locals have no intention of voting in the regime’s sham election process.
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 pic.twitter.com/RKWXwHbOe8
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 18, 2020
The gravity of the regime’s fear from the boycott was reflected in comments made in Friday prayers by the representatives of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei’s representatives, who are terrified of the consequences of a low voter turnout, begged the public to go to the polls.
Ahmad Alamalhoda, the Friday prayers leader of Mashhad, said: “We’ve put behind 10 rounds of parliamentary elections, but none of them were as dangerous as the 11th Majlis (parliament), nor were they as important.”
Hojatollah Esmaili, the Friday prayers leader of Varamin, said: “The enemy hopes for a low voter turnout and will consider this a win. Voting is the first duty.”
A few days earlier, Khamenei acknowledged that he lacks public support and begged the people to vote. He said: “Some may not like me, but they should vote for the sake of the country’s prestige and security.”
Also, on Tuesday Khamenei revealed his fear and announced that participation in the election is “a religious duty” for Iranians.
“Elections are a matter of dignity for the establishment. The Americans are seeking a low voter turnout in the elections to separate the people from the state and leave them hopeless about voting,” Khamenei said.
“… even the Iranian regime Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has acknowledged the rigging and engineered nature of the regime’s sham elections.”#Iran#MyVoteRegimeChangehttps://t.co/Whyb42nDgS
— People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) February 19, 2020
Because of this fear, the regime wants to gather as many people as possible in the polling centers.
Reports from various cities suggest that one of the regime’s actions to bring some to the polls is to buy their ballots. Due to the poor economic situation and severe poverty in many cities, poor people have been promised money if they go to the polls. In Gorgan, any person who goes to the polls will be paid 1 to 2 USD. In Ardebil, each person will be paid 5 USD to go to the polls. In Kerman, it has been announced that anyone who shows a picture or film of his or her presence in the polls will receive money. In Masjed Soleyman, rice trucks are taken to the villages and anyone who agrees to go to the polls will be given a bag of rice. In Sistan and Baluchestan Province, the regime hardly issues birth certificates to the poor people, and many of them do not have birth certificates, but the regime has stated that it will issue birth certificates for those who go to the polls.
