The spokesperson for the Reform Front does not consider the system to be unreformable.
Ali Shakouri Rad, the spokesperson for the Reform Front of Iran and former Secretary-General of the Union of Islamic Iran People Party, told Fararu that the large number of protesters in the streets of Iran have come to believe that the Islamic Republic system is not reformable, and this belief is spreading among the people.
He said that in the recent protests, the belief that the system is unreformable has become prevalent among the protesters, whereas until recently, this was not the case. In May 2017, when people participated widely in the elections and the turnout was high, it meant that people still had hope for the system to be reformed.
In the events of January 2018, some students chanted ‘Reformist, principalist, the story is over,’ which meant that reforms were deemed useless. At that time, this slogan was very limited, but currently, and especially since the 2021 elections when the government officially did not seek to increase people’s participation in the elections, resulting in decreased turnout and a unified government, people have concluded that the system is not reformable. The distinguishing feature of the recent protests is the widespread belief in the system’s unreformability in society.
Shakouri Rad said that the governmental reform movement, which began in June 1997, has been unsuccessful, and this lack of reform achievements has led to people neither supporting the reformists nor considering reforms as a way out of the deadlock. The reformist movement that started in 1997, with people voting for it in several elections and repeating their demands, has not yielded significant achievements. What response do we now have for the reformist base and the people? Should we tell them to continue on this path and that we will have achievements tomorrow? We believe in this, but they no longer believe us, and as a result, the reformists have effectively been sidelined.