Current Events

Just 33?

They all should be banned.

We need a new circus in town! 

I just wonder ...

This rejime is only good at one thing and that's  making enemies.

I just wonder how it has managed to keep on going for so long.

One strong possibility is NOT HAVING A CREDABLE OPOSITION.

(Call me pessimistic if you like but that's the bitter truth)

Hilarious Process,

On the one hand the IRI bans mp's from re-election, others from attempting to be elected in the first place, yet this system still after all this has to rig elections using a government body that is responsible for counting votes and this process does not have independent observers from supporters of each candidate.  Those that said this was a reformible government in the first place, what was the reasoning based on?  Their actions are blatent theft, backed by force. This system can continue and continue harming Iranians so long as they have their thugs and are eager to use them. Once their thugs lose their will, the regime is gone and other religious leaders/groups will aim to replace the IRI.

Esfand

Yes, it's hokoomat e delbekhaai (arbitrary rule) all over again in Iran. This paper by Oxford's Homa Katouzian is worth a read; his theory of the Iranian state explains a lot about what's going on (and what had been going on throughout our history). The link goes to an abstract, but you may be able to read it at a local library (some libraries subscribe to the JSTOR service).

Ari jaan yes to vote or not to vote, that is their question!

I have a feeling people will not vote for the parliamentary elections and moe importantly and if the regime survives till then, the next presidential election, if any due to change to a PM position!

I just don't know how ruthless the regime will once again become if they decide to tie "voting" to some other service like being able to get the cash subsidies or national ID card or whatever. 

Their recent response to the fall of their currency was to "ban" the sale of Dollar!  Ban it and they will not come! LOL!

They just make rules as they go along. 

Everything is sacred

Thanks Arj

Like a bone stuck in the throat, they can't swallow it or cough it up. All they can do is slowly choke.

Esfand: What's interesting to note is that elections hurt the regime whether people vote or not.  If we don't vote, it continues to deligitimize. If we do vote, it continues to fracture. The vote, written into the constitution, is a slow acting self destruct mechanism that activates automatically when things go wrong with the system.  

Re elections

Thank you Ari for a keen observation! They indeed can't get rid of the election process, yet they can't live with it either! With every election, a part of the regime separates from its nucleus. It's a kind of like meiosis in reverse! Seems like the ghost of 1979 revolution will haunt the regime to its very end!

first election was the only true one as JJ noted

the one i remember fondly. aksariat and other groups ran candidates and some of them even did well. we had a list of candidates that we even gave it to  our grandmother to vote for. in a way, it is better that these candidates are disqualified. you would hope that people get the message that reform is not possible but some of us take optimisim to new levels that i don't share.

Note to Admin: BBC embedded videos can't be viewed here ?

Seems all BBC Related videos which are embedded on your website cannot be viewed here in France although They are perfectly viewable directly on the BBC website but not on your website 

Any idea why ? 

It reads "playlist was specified outside a valid bbc.co.uk domaine" 

PS: I flagged myself to draw attention on my comment so no worries. 

Turnout Challenge for the Regime

I wonder how the Regime will show a high turnout when there won't be one. They will pay their few million supporters to show up and they will exaggerate the fake results, but they still need to show long lines for the cameras.

They may just bus the same people from one polling place to another!

Just stay home and don't vote this time!

Everything is sacred

More and more enemies, fewer and fewer friends

The election process will be the undoing of this regime. And it's a tar baby, because they cant' get rid of elections without making an enemy out of everyone. It's one legacy of the '79 revolution that's still sneakily working towards an Iranian democracy in its own strange way.

No surprise

Purges have been one of the most consistent features of the Islamic Republic since day one. The Shah's military chiefs surrendered and gave in to the revolution. They were quickly executed. No one was surprised and few objected. It was an ominous sign of things to come. Only yes-men were safe.

The first elections included candidates from a wide range of factions, with the exception of monarchists. But in every subsequent election, the circle of "qualified" candidates has become smaller and smaller. Those who question the supreme leader's absolute rule, no matter how slightly or indirectly, are guaranteed exclusion. What this regime demands is complete loyalty.