The reformist candidate for the Presidency of Iran opposes Internet censorship and the imposition of the veil

June 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Iranian presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has begun campaigning for the July 5 runoff election with a message in favour of internet freedom and relaxing strict measures on the imposition of headscarves on women.

“The government should not intervene in the hijab issue,” the former health minister and reformist candidate said in a message posted on his website. “It is a cultural and rational issue,” he added, “and if we tell the police and the judiciary to solve the problem, we will create even more problems.”

Pezeshkian indirectly referred to recent policies of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which empowered the so-called Morality Police to enforce veiling on women, despite the tragic consequences of the 2022 and 2023 nationwide protests against the death of young Mahsa Amini in custody, allegedly for wearing her clothing incorrectly.

Police repression of the protests left hundreds dead, although the Iranian government blamed the demonstrations on the presence of rioters in the pay of foreign powers.

The short electoral campaign will formally begin tonight and will have its climaxes in two consecutive debates on Monday and Tuesday between Pezeshkian and the conservative candidate Said Jalili, the country’s former representative in negotiations with the international community on the nuclear program.

Pezeshkian was the candidate with the most votes in the first round but did not obtain the 50 percent of the votes needed plus one to achieve direct victory. Jalili now has the support of the entire conservative front ahead of the second round of these elections, brought forward by the death of Raisi in a helicopter accident in May.

The first round of the elections ended with the worst participation rates in the history of the Islamic republic, a mere approximate 40 percent. Former political figures such as former Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif have recognized that more needs to be done to attract the population to the polls.

“The absence of more than 60 percent of Iranians in the elections is undoubtedly a clear sign of the dissatisfaction and disappointment of our good people with the way of governing. For my part, I apologize to all the people for the failures” , he lamented on his social network account X.