On March 1, 2024, Iran witnessed its largest state election boycott to date. After several months-long efforts, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the regime, and his cohorts had struggled intensely to project a false sense of legitimacy onto the world stage but recent reports and nationwide field surveys unveil that they have encountered a resounding defeat.
Across 215 cities in 31 provinces, data collected from nearly 2,000 polling stations indicates that only 5 million people, constituting a mere 8% of eligible voters, participated in the electoral process. Consequently, the sham elections effectively transformed into a referendum, with the vast majority of Iranians casting negative votes against Khamenei.
Following months of intimidation, appeals, and admonitions, Khamenei, while casting his ballot in the early hours of March 1, once again resorted to urging and pleas.
Khamenei urged, “Make use of the opportunity as soon as possible and cast your vote in the earliest hours. I recommend that people vote as much as necessary in every constituency, not less. For instance, in Tehran, where there are 30 parliamentary representatives, people should cast their votes for all 30, not less. My final message to the people in these elections is that there is no need for divination when it comes to doing what is right.”
The Election Headquarters affiliated with the Ministry of Interior also urged eligible voters in announcement number 23 not to postpone their visit to polling stations until the final hours. In announcement number 24, the Headquarters even declared that individuals with photo-less national ID cards could participate in the elections.
This comes in contrast to announcement 22, where the Headquarters had stated that besides the national ID card, passport, driver’s license, and military service duty certificate, individuals could also cast their votes. Not stamping the ID cards would have been a blatant invitation to state-affiliated cronies for vote repetition and astonishing fraud.
As election day approached, the regime deployed tactics aimed at deceiving a population increasingly disillusioned with the ruling factions. The introduction of the “Nation’s Voice” list sought to create the illusion that the individuals listed were neither principalist nor reformist. This maneuver was a desperate response to the people’s resounding slogan during the January 2018 uprising: “Reformist, Principlist, the game is over!” — a rejection of all factions within the regime.
Even the appeals from former and marginalized officials, such as former president Hassan Rouhani, urging participation in the sham elections, failed to deceive the people.
Additionally, the state resorted to coercive tactics, including heightened pressure on prisoners, to compel them into casting coerced votes. The decision to extend voting hours by two additional two hours reflected the profound sluggishness of the electoral process.
In a report to the Election Headquarters on March 1, the Governorate of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad noted a decline in voter turnout compared to 2020. The head of the mosque storage branch in Tabriz informed the Election Headquarters that participation levels were one-fourth of those in 2020. An inspector in West Azerbaijan informed the central Election Headquarters of low participation in Urmia, with no queues observed at any polling station. By day’s end, only one-fourth of the booths in one of the most populous branches were utilized. In one area of Urmia, frustrated individuals threw the ballot box outside.
Watch and judge how #Khamenei's representatives in various cities across #Iran have resorted to begging for participation in the regime's upcoming sham elections. pic.twitter.com/HBdPdjvenH
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 25, 2024
In addition to these reports, the state-run site Rokna detailed an attack on three Basij members en route to the polling station in Shemiranat. The attack, carried out by an armed group wielding cold weapons in Darabad, left one member in critical condition, another with a ruptured spleen rushed to the operating room, and the third at risk of losing their right eye. In Meybod, central Iran, an unidentified assailant attacked a Friday prayer leader with a sharp object.
Despite the Iranian regime’s efforts to inflate figures and manipulate statistics, the election boycott stands as a comprehensive and far-reaching protest. Despite attempts to coerce the armed forces, government personnel, and those reliant on the regime to vote, the boycott was resolute and pervasive. Contrary to the regime’s expectations, even rural areas saw minimal voter turnout. With this emphatic “no,” the Iranian people have significantly undermined the authority of Khamenei and the clerical regime, accelerating the process of regime change.
While the regime may portray crowded scenes and utilize its mouthpieces in the West to depict a different narrative of what transpired on March 1, the sight of empty polling stations in thousands of Iran’s cities and villages speaks volumes to those who ultimately determine their country’s destiny. This sanctioned referendum through abstention signifies a significant loss of socio-political capital for the Iranian regime. It is only a matter of time before Iranians express their voices and actions through decisive votes on the streets.