ultraconservatives seek unity in the face of the reformist “threat”

On the eve of the vote, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi withdraws and invites others to follow his example to strengthen a unique leadership. Consensus is growing around Pezeshkian, supported by former presidents Rouhani and Khatami and Zarif, but criticized by the supreme leader. Khamenei calls for voting, while the abstentionist front prevails.

Tehran () – A call to vote and a warning to the reformist candidate of the supreme leadership in the face of the risk of abstentionism; the economic issue in a country bowed down by Western sanctions; the political prisoners who call for a boycott from their cell. And the sudden but not unexpected withdrawal, announced last night, of the ultra-conservative candidate Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, to counteract the growing consensus in the polls of the only exponent of the moderate-reformist wing. Iran is heading wearily towards the presidential election scheduled for tomorrow, June 28, to elect the successor of Ebrahim Raisi, who died on May 19 when his helicopter crashed in circumstances that are not entirely clear, although the theory of aircraft failure prevails.

In one of the last public speeches before the vote, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for a “high turnout” at the polls. We underline the importance,” explained the supreme leader, “of a high participation [en la ronda electoral] because it is the pride of the Islamic Republic.” “In all the elections,” he added, “in which participation has been low, the enemies [del país] “They attacked us.”

There are more than 61 million voters eligible to vote in a crucial election to assess Tehran’s role in various regional and global crises, although the direction of the country’s foreign policy and ultimate leadership is in the hands of Khamenei. The attention of the candidates, who have challenged each other in televised debates that have not warmed the spirits of the electorate, is focused on the call to the polls: the Iranian Students Polling Agency predicts a participation of 44.4%, while the The pro-government Majlis Research Center assumes a figure higher than 53%. The forecasts of international organizations are very different: the Gamaan Institute, based in Holland, places abstentionism at 65%, while only 22% of those surveyed intend to vote and 12% are undecided. There are also 34% of respondents (about 78,000 in total) who do not know the date of early voting, in a nation where the central issue – more than the denial of rights – is the economic crisis related to sanctions.

In the last week, calls have multiplied from political and civil society figures, feminists and pro-rights organizations, to desert the polls. More than 500 teachers, union members and intellectuals have issued an open letter in which they confirm their choice of abstentionism; From her cell in Evin prison, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi speaks of an “illegal” vote promoted by an “oppressive and illegitimate government.” All this accompanied by a call to join the movement in favor of rights and freedom “Women, Life, Freedom”, born after the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini at the hands of the police for not wearing the hijab correctly. .

What stirred spirits was the news of the withdrawal – a not uncommon event in Iranian elections, when the party linked to the radical and ultra-conservative faction sacrifices a candidate to channel the vote towards those who have more possibilities – of Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi , 53 years old. He also addressed other candidates, inviting them to also “take a step back” to converge on a unified election “so that,” the Iranian state agency reports, “the front of the revolution emerges strengthened.” The now former candidate, vice president and Raisi loyalist for a year, intends to support the leadership of one of the two main candidates of the ultra-conservative wing: the former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the president of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

A reinforcement of the radical wing in the face of a growth in consensus for the only exponent among the six (now five) candidates close to the moderate and reformist faction: the cardiac surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian, who in these hours has received the support of the former president (moderate ) Hassan Rouhani, whose administration had signed the nuclear agreement (Jcpoa) ​​with the United States. “On Friday we should vote,” the former president said, “for someone who is determined to remove the shadow of sanctions from the Iranian people,” while he praised Pezeshkian’s “honesty and loyalty.” A position, that of the nuclear issue, that is at the origin of Khamenei’s attack that people who seek “ways forward” in the dialogue on the atomic bomb with Washington should not be supported.

Among the figures from the reformist front who have announced their vote in favor of the doctor and deputy are former president Mohammad Khatami and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Specifically, Khatami spoke of “opportunities” for “change” and that Pezeshkian is an “upright, justice-seeking, anti-corruption and meritocratic” leader.