Low voter turnout signals common people's dissatisfaction with the system
By Tirthankar Mitra
Iranian elections are over and given the counting trends, moderates will be taking a back seat while the hardliners are set to sweep the polls..Reformist movement has been in steady decline for years and was further damaged by the previous president, Hassan Rouhani. The reformists backed Rouhani in elections even though he was not a reformist. He failed to deliver change during his two four year tenure.
The election was held for choosing 290 legislators and 88 Islamic scholars known as the Assembly of Experts. It is a .body which chooses the country's supreme leader. An election is considered to be a true test of the people's will. The side conceding defeat does so stating it is bowing before the people's will. Participation has to be widespread for the true expression of the people's will..But if the election in Iran is anything to go by, a truer test of public mood lies in a different number. It was a historically low voter turnout. It was a lowest since the Iran Revolution of 1979.
It was a measly 41 per cent. This dismal voter turnout is a pointer to the disappointment of the voters who stayed away to register their disenchantment with the country ‘s electoral process. The turnout in 2016 elections was 62 percent. The two poll percentages speak for themselves.
The ruling elite cannot wash its hands off the disinclination of a major percentage of the voters with the polling process. It is also a signal from those who stayed away and did not exercise their franchise of zeroing in on to those occupying the corridors of power.
The election results will strengthen the hands of the conservatives. This could heighten the growing frustration among the ordinary Iranians which was manifested in the refusal of most of the voters to participate in the elections. Iran is not in a comfortable domestic situation. Inflation stood at 35 per cent in February.
Frantic efforts are being made to attract international investments. In the backdrop of the world becoming a global village what with the giant leap forward by the social media, no country can stay in isolation.
Yet Iranian authorities have tightened social media control. Steps have been taken to to further throttle internet. Iran has announced new rules that adversely affect virtual private networks, The fact remains that it is used by a huge section of the populace including social media platforms that are otherwise banned.
Against this backdrop, the low voter turnout in Iranian elections is only to be expected. It points an accusing finger at the wide gap between the powers that be and the expectations of the modern day Iranians.
It is a wide chasm that has opened up. The decision makers in the corridors of power in Tehran should instead of looking away from it, make efforts to ensure that the peoples' aspirations are not rubbed the wrong way.
For such a situation is often a precursor to a popular protest. Any harsh crackdown will only widen the gulf. The low participation of what should have been a dance of democracy bodes ill for Iran. It can alter both domestic politics in that country and Tehran's approach to the rest of the world.
IPA Service
