Electoral Winds to Bring Hope of Change in Iran
@HuffingtonPost
Brussels, 17 June 2013
On 14 June 2013, the Iranian people cast their vote to elect a new president that would replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after completing his two terms in office. The presidential elections, which saw a high voter turnout at 72% of the 50 million people who were eligible to vote, delivered a surprise win, with a landslide victory, of just over 50% in favour of Hassan Rouhani.
Of the six candidates, Rouhani was the only moderate candidate approved by the Guardian Council to run. During his victory speech, he described the win as a victory of “moderation over extremism” and indicated a desire to promote peace through diplomatic engagement, and improve the standing of women and minority groups.
The election marks a departure from the 2009 presidential election when official results sparked mass demonstrations on the streets of Iran against fraud and rigging. However, despite Rouhani’s victory, the lead up to Friday’s elections saw the government undermine the election process by imprisoning opposition activists, harassing and intimidating journalists, and shutting down the internet intermittently. More problematic, however, is the government’s intensified use of the death penalty against opposition activists in the months preceding the election. Minority groups represented by UNPO have sought to raise attention about the use of the death penalty, particularly the increased use of secret executions, against minorities and other forms of extreme violence targeting their groups before the election.
The selection process by the Guardian Council has also made it high unlikely that the election conformed to democratic standards. The Council has been the subject of intense criticism, in particular by the US and France for disqualifying hundreds of reformist candidates from running, particularly as it is an unelected body that is not accountable to the Iranian people. Moreover, of the six candidates that were cherry-picked to run, only one was a reformist with the five other candidates being conservatives. Women were banned from running, as well as, minority group leaders, and all democratic, liberal, and secular candidates, making it highly unlikely that the candidates represented the will of all Iranians.
It remains to be seen whether Rouhani will instigate positive change in Iran, particularly with regard to Iran’s growing human rights crisis. Iran’s minorities, for example, which include the Kurds, Baloch, Ahwazi Arabs, Turkmens and Azeri’s, among others, continue to face extreme levels of systematic violence and discrimination.
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