Supreme Leader stresses that popular participation is the essence of the Islamic Republic’s system
June 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, voted this Friday in the early presidential elections due to the death in May of the then president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter accident and has reiterated his call to the population for an “enthusiastic” participation. in the vote, in which four candidates aspire to office.
“Election day is one of happiness and joy for Iranians. Especially when the election is that of the president, since the future of the country will be decided by the people’s choice,” Khamenei said after voting, a moment in which who has asked for an “enthusiastic” participation and “an increase” in participation with respect to the legislative elections, when it was at historic lows.
He stressed that “this is a necessity for the Islamic Republic.” “The word ‘republic’ in ‘Islamic Republic’ indicates the presence of the people, which is the essence of this system. Therefore, the durability, consistency, honor and reputation of the Islamic Republic in the world depend on the presence of the people,” he argued, according to a statement published by his office on its website.
“For this reason, I recommend that our beloved people take voting seriously and participate in this important political test,” said Khamenei, who questioned those with “doubts” when voting “is something that has no cost, no requires effort, time and pressure, although it has many benefits. “Do not hesitate, especially regarding the aforementioned point that the stability of the Islamic Republic depends on the presence of the people,” she argued.
In this sense, he emphasized that a high participation “demonstrates the validity and integrity of the system of the Islamic Republic” and that “the presence of the people is something necessary and obligatory.” “I hope that, God willing, the best and most useful for the country will be chosen and that the coming years will be good and favorable and that the people will be satisfied with his election,” he concluded.
The vote takes place after the two ultra-conservative candidates, Amirhosein Qazizadé Hashemi and Alireza Zakani, announced that they were withdrawing from the race for the Presidency and appealed to unite the vote in one of the favorite conservatives, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf and Said Jalili, before the hope of the only reformist, Masud Pezeshkian, to at least force a second round.
The withdrawal of the ultra-conservatives came after former President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who was in power between 2013 and 2021 — when he was succeeded by Raisi — called on the population to vote for Pezeshkian,
For his part, Khamenei had this week veiledly criticised Pezeshkian, saying that “anyone who shows the slightest opposition to the revolution (…) or to the Islamic system is neither useful nor good” for the population, following the reformist politician’s criticism of the repression of the protests unleashed after the death of Mahsa Amini and his request to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement.
In addition to Jalili, Qalibaf and Pezeshkian, another conservative candidate, Mosfatá Purmohamadi, is seeking the presidency in a vote that takes place just a few months after the legislative elections, marked by low turnout – at historic lows – and calls for a boycott by the opposition to denounce repression by the authorities.
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