Iran – Election Show – No. 3
Reports from 237 cities across 31 provinces by 1800 hours indicate a low turnout nationwide. Due to widespread public indifference towards the elections, the Ministry of Interior extended the voting hours from the official 6 PM deadline to 8 PM nationwide.
The nationwide boycott of the elections was so extensive that even the Hosseiniyah Ershad branch in Tehran, typically used for showcasing to foreign reporters, was devoid of attendees. A municipal bus carrying 5 women and 5 men from the Basij parked outside Pars Hospital in Tehran, where some entered the hospital and pressured patients and staff to vote, though most refused.
In Tabriz, at Aali Nasab Hospital, ballot boxes were brought to patient rooms accompanied by 3 officials who threatened patients to vote, yet none of them consented to vote.
In Karaj, at the Grand Mosque polling station, just a few people turned up during the eight-hour voting period.
In Nikshahr, Sistan and Baluchestan province, regime agents took ballot boxes to the funeral ceremonies of two martyrs killed by suppressive forces’ gunfire the previous day. Angry crowds confronted the agents, forcing them to flee.
In Chabahar, most polling stations were empty, including the Towhid mosque station in Konarak, Sistan and Baluchestan, where no one showed up to vote.
In Dehgolan village, residents prevented the entry of ballot boxes and clashed with mercenaries, damaging their vehicles. In Taybad, students with larger physiques were brought in to cast their votes.
In Taybad prison, 130 inmates were coerced to vote using 4 different types of clothing, transported to various stations and they were asked to vote for Saeed Jalili without having any identification documents. Even prisoners on furlough were forcibly summoned to vote at the Musa ibn Ja’far Mosque precinct.
AhmaAlam al-Hoda, Khamenei’s representative in Khorasan Razavi, stated in today’s prayer sermon, “Devotion to leadership, steadfast commitment to Velayat (i.e., Khamenei), and efficiency are three essential qualities the Nation’s Trustee in the presidential position must possess.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
28 June 2024
