Iran – Sham Elections Second Round – No. 4
Desperate text messages urging participation in elections, public indifference, and closure of some polling stations due to low turnout
According to reports from 31 provinces, as of 5:00 PM, the election orchestrated by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been met with widespread indifference and boycott. An official from the polling station at Rasoul Akram Mosque in Tehran reported to the Ministry of Interior, “There are usually no more than 4 people at the ballot box at any given time. Young voters are noticeably absent, and participation in this round is half of what it was last time.”
In Tehran, people are receiving text messages urging them to vote, saying “the martyrs are waiting for you,” but no one is paying attention. Basij militia members are standing at Towhid Square in Tehran, offering money to people in exchange for voting. The polling station on North Allameh Street in Saadat Abad was closed at 11:00 AM due to low turnout. Polling stations in Districts 1 and 2 of Tehran are empty. At 3:00 PM, there were no voters at the Imam Jafar Sadiq Mosque polling station. At Seyed al-Shohada Elementary School, two people voted; at Ansar al-Mahdi Mosque, 15 people; and at Hazrat Zahra Mosque, 5 people voted. No one came to vote at the polling stations in Fakhar Mosque and Isa Bahram Girls’ Elementary School.
In Isfahan, at 2:00 PM, one person visited the Mashahir High School polling station and five people visited the Balal Mosque to vote, while there were no voters at the Darb Kooshk Mosque polling station.
In Birjand, the busiest polling station from the first round of elections was closed at 3:00 PM this time due to low turnout. In Urmia, three polling stations were closed at noon for the same reason. In Zahedan, thousands of worshippers passed by the polling stations indifferently after leaving the prayer hall.
In the cities of Qaemshahr, Arak, Doroud, Eslamabad-e Gharb, Amol, Mamasani, Faresan, Hafshejan, Zahedan, Bumehen, Bukan, Mahabad, Pakdasht, Someh Sara, Talesh, Qom, and Ahvaz, there were either no voters or only a handful of visitors during the afternoon hours.
In some villages of Alborz Province, they are offering lunch and tea to anyone passing by the polling station, asking them to vote afterward. In the city of Qasr-e Qand in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, the governor, IRGC commanders, the head and deputy of IRGC intelligence, and election observers lined up in front of the polling station to take photos and videos, intending to present it as evidence of election participation.
In one of the villages in Shush County, regime operatives are saying they will give 100,000 tomans (Iranian currency) to anyone who votes for Jalili. In Urmia, IRGC and Basij agents and other operatives with 30 vehicles were chanting slogans in favor of Jalili in front of the Moghanloo polling station, but no one paid attention, and they were forced to leave the area.
The Ministry of Interior sent a text message to all people, quoting Supreme Leader Khamenei, stating that those who love Islam and the country’s progress should participate in the elections. The regime sent another text message to the people of Tehran, saying: “Dear fellow citizen, more than 24,000 martyrs in Tehran have shed their blood to protect the country. The martyrs are waiting for your effective presence at the ballot boxes. Delay is not permissible.”
A member of the SSF personnel in Qazvin wrote on his Telegram, “I am from the SSF personnel in Qazvin. From morning until 3 PM while I was on patrol, I can boldly say that I have never seen a city like this before. Qazvin has become a ghost town; not even a bird is flying.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
5 July 2024
