{"id":568631,"date":"2021-06-19T14:51:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T18:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=568631"},"modified":"2021-06-19T14:52:03","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T18:52:03","slug":"yes-to-a-democratic-iran-iranians-burn-campaign-posters-refuse-to-vote-in-unprecedented-boycott-of-sham-presidential-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yes-to-a-democratic-iran-iranians-burn-campaign-posters-refuse-to-vote-in-unprecedented-boycott-of-sham-presidential-election\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Yes To A Democratic Iran:\u2019 Iranians Burn Campaign Posters, Refuse To Vote In Unprecedented Boycott Of \u2018Sham\u2019 Presidential Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fyes-to-a-democratic-iran-iranians-burn-campaign-posters-refuse-to-vote-in-unprecedented-boycott-of-sham-presidential-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=568631&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-140314598.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>The Iranian people burned campaign posters and vandalized Tehran with pro-democracy messages as they organized an unprecedented public boycott of what citizens said is a sham presidential election this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur vote is regime change and Yes to a democratic Iran,\u201d was <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/r_siavosh\/status\/1404431423164006401\">scrawled<\/a> on walls in Tehran, along with other messages like, \u201cwe will not vote for murderers.\u201d Posters of the regime\u2019s favored candidate were vandalized and burned in the days leading up to the election, video footage provided to The Daily Wire showed.<\/p>\n<p>Video clips filmed on Friday by supporters of the resistance inside Iran and provided to The Daily Wire show scenes of dozens of deserted polling sites across the country, including in the country\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n<p>Faced with what appeared to be abysmal turnout, the Iranian Interior Ministry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/asia-pacific\/20210618-live-iran-votes-in-presidential-poll-with-few-choices-high-apathy\">announced<\/a> Friday evening that polling station hours would be extended late into the night until 2am or as long as voters showed up at polling places.<\/p>\n<p>The presidential candidate favored by Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s regime is judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who was involved in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/voices\/comment\/i-was-lucky-escape-my-life-massacre-iranian-political-prisoners-1988-must-now-be-investigated-8779679.html\">mass executions<\/a> of Iranian political prisoners in 1988. Raisi, who is all but guaranteed to win, was sanctioned for his role in the executions by former President Donald Trump in 2019. The candidate\u2019s sordid past appears to be one of the chief factors lending strength to the resistance movement this election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Popular uprisings in December 2017 and November 2019 that turned deadly, killing hundreds of protesters, appear to have caused Khamenei to support loyalists like Raisi as he works to strengthen his control.<\/p>\n<p>Protesting elections in their country, which has been on the U.S. state terror sponsor list for decades, is nothing new to Iranians, but the movement has a different energy this time \u2014 they are no longer hiding their identities.<\/p>\n<p>Mothers and fathers of young Iranians killed by the regime for peacefully protesting posted video messages to social media of themselves calling for an election boycott. The bereaved parents held pictures of their dead children as they introduced themselves by name and condemned the election as rigged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t vote. My vote is regime change,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HanifJazayeri\/status\/1402731693224693763\">said<\/a> one mother, Iran Allahyari, whose son, Mehrdad Moinfar, was killed in November 2019 by the regime for participating in a peaceful protest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will not turn a blind eye to the unjust murder of my only son,\u201d she said. \u201cThey destroyed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An Iranian father, Reza Salmanzadeh, recorded a video <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HanifJazayeri\/status\/1402701257693880328\">message<\/a> saying he is the father of Mahdi, who was \u201cmartyred in the path of freedom for Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the past 42 years, I have never voted for the Islamic Republic, and I will never vote for it,\u201d the father said in the video. \u201cAnd I will do everything to overthrow this sinister Islamic Republic regime and its leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLong live freedom. Shame on the Islamic Republic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">The Iranian city of Sadra reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/r_siavosh\/status\/1402911504446504961\">ordered<\/a> shopkeepers to vote in the<\/span><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">\u00a0presidential election, threatening them with unemployment if they refuse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Khamenei cast his vote early Friday morning in Tehran and urged Iranians to turn out to vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach vote counts \u2026 come and vote and choose your president,\u201d the Supreme Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-57510763\">said<\/a>. \u201cThis is important for the future of your country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, who leads the Iranian political resistance group the People\u2019s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) along with her husband Massoud Rajavi, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryam-rajavi.com\/en\/mullahs-sham-election\/\">called<\/a> the successful boycott \u201cthe greatest political and social blow\u201d to Khamenei and the ruling theocracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe boycott proved and showed the world that the Iranian people\u2019s only vote is to overthrow this medieval regime. The nationwide boycott is the groundswell of the martyrs\u2019 sacrifices and is a reflection of the Iranian people\u2019s great campaign for justice,\u201d Rajavi said Friday in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe religious dictatorship is in a downward spiral and must be swept aside. Emerging out of this sham election will be a regime that is more disgraced, vulnerable, and fragile,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Rajavi predicted that \u201cthe henchman of the 1988 massacre\u201d will likely perpetrate more crimes, but the regime will ultimately be overthrown by the Iranian people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFreedom and a democratic republic are the Iranian people\u2019s inalienable rights,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n<p>More than 59 million of Iran\u2019s 80 million residents are eligible to vote, but 12 hours after polls opened only 37% had cast their ballots, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/iran-vote-set-hand-presidency-judge-under-us-sanctions-2021-06-18\/\">according<\/a> to semi-official news agency Fars.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, 67% of all citizens age 18 and older reported voting, a record turnout, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/stories\/2021\/04\/record-high-turnout-in-2020-general-election.html\">according<\/a> to the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n<p>Less than 10% of eligible voters actually cast their ballot, according to the MEK, the Iranian opposition network that organized much of the resistance activity. The MEK said its assessment was based on the reports of more than 1,200 reporters of Iran National Television, the satellite television channel run by the Iranian resistance, who reported from 400 Iranian cities and recorded more than 3,500 video clips at polling stations.<\/p>\n<p>Iran approved a total of seven presidential candidates for its presidential election this year. Iran\u2019s Guardian Council, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/world-news-donald-trump-middle-east-iran-elections-e1636938e8bc11b30650c90c0bb7764e\">barred<\/a> several prominent allies of current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is prohibited by term limits from seeking office again, from running to replace him. One of the candidates said he was rejected because his daughter lives in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, when Rouhani won re-election against Raisi, the estimated turnout was unexpectedly high at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-39984066\">70 percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rouhani has long represented a more moderate alternative to the Iranian theocracy and urged Iranians to vote on Friday. Many of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/05\/18\/middleeast\/iran-rouhani-election\/index.html\">promises<\/a> never came to fruition under Khamenei\u2019s rule, prompting citizens to seek a more radical change through boycotting the election.<\/p>\n<p>Ali Safavi is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a political coalition calling for the replacement of the regime in Iran.<\/p>\n<p>The boycott and protests this election cycle are \u201cunprecedented\u201d because they are \u201cnot spontaneous\u201d but \u201cvery well organized,\u201d Safavi told The Daily Wire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the sentiment among Iranians is reflected in one of the most prevalent chants that you hear on the Iranian street even today, where they say, \u2018the enemy is right here, they lie when they say it\u2019s America,&#8217;\u201d Safavi said.<\/p>\n<p>Savafi also said he believes Iranians do not want to see the U.S. sanctions on Iran lifted despite the crippling effect they have had on Iran\u2019s economy. Any relief provided will be absorbed by the regime and not be used to improve the livelihood of everyday Iranians, according to Savafi.<\/p>\n<p>He urged the Biden administration to \u201creject this sham which the regime tries to sell to the Western world as an election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore protests are certainly looming on the horizon, and they will be much more ferocious and widespread than previous ones,\u201d Savafi predicted.<\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Iranian people burned campaign posters and vandalized Tehran with pro-democracy messages as they organized an unprecedented public boycott of what citizens said is a sham presidential election this week.\u201cOur &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2280774,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-140314598.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Yes To A Democratic Iran:\u2019 Iranians Burn Campaign Posters, Refuse To Vote In Unprecedented Boycott Of \u2018Sham\u2019 Presidential Election","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-568631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-140314598.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Yes To A Democratic Iran:\u2019 Iranians Burn Campaign Posters, Refuse To Vote In Unprecedented Boycott Of \u2018Sham\u2019 Presidential Election","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}