 The
world is watching
Another
attempt
at reverse psychology by the conservatives to turn the tide in
their own favor
By Ardeshir Sardari
January 13, 2004
iranian.com
The clerical establishment in Iran is fully aware
of the impacts of a low voter turnout in the upcoming elections
in February. For months now, different political groups and parties
have been threatening a boycott of the elections.
Opposition leaders
inside and outside of the country have been putting forth analyses
of the probable consequences of an election boycott by the general
public. The hard-line theocrats fearing a low turnout would damage
the image of the Islamic Government in the world scene, are scurrying
to get on top of this potentially embarrassing situation.
The disqualification of a majority of the reformist
candidates by the hard-line Guardian Council on Sunday seems another
attempt
at reverse psychology by the conservatives to turn the tide in
their own favor.
With prominent reformist such as Mohammad Reza Khatami
and Behzad Nabavi having not made the final cut by the Guardian
Council, and
the President of the Republic having labeled the screening process
"illegal", the Supreme Leader is sure to intervene and order the
Guardian
Council to make a so-called concession in the near future and allow
some of the reformists' names to stay on the ballot. This
in turn is bound to excite the voting public into thinking that
their cries have been heard and that by electing the reformists
candidates, they could put some life back into the troubled reformist
movement.
The conservatives know that even with the reformists
holding a majority in the parliament, any attempts at real reform
will be
eventually thwarted by the Guardian Council. This has clearly been
the case in the past and the future will be no different. Their
fear is not of a reformist dominated parliament but of a public
that is uninterested in participating in the political process.
This puts their legitimacy into question, and this they will try
desperately to avoid.
The boycott of these elections, irrespective
of whose names remain on the ballot, is the only way for the
Iranian public to demonstrate
to the world that they are dissatisfied with the performance
of the Islamic government.
The world is watching and the momentum for change
has presented itself like no other time in the past 25 years. Let's not
fall victim again to trickery and deceit.
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The
world is watching