The leader of the Islamic Republic says that if there are no elections in the country, it is either dictatorship or chaos.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding the Assembly of Experts and parliamentary elections in Iran, says some people create obstacles about holding elections, discourage others, and do not realize that if there are no elections in the country, it leads to dictatorship, chaos, and insecurity. Elections prevent the emergence of dictatorship, chaos, disorder, and insecurity.
According to IRNA, Mr. Khamenei, referring to this year’s March elections, stated that the two words ‘Republic’ and ‘Islamic’ are both dependent on elections. ‘Republic’ means democracy, meaning the governance of the country is in the hands of the people, and there is no other way but elections.
Ali Khamenei, without mentioning any specific group of critics and opponents of elections in Iran, stated that discouraging people from elections is detrimental to the country. The solution to the country’s problems is elections.
In today’s speech, the leader of the Islamic Republic did not mention the widespread disqualification of prominent candidates from well-known political factions like the reformists. This year, in several speeches, he called for high participation in the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections.
In the 2021 presidential election, the voter turnout was 48 percent, and the invalid votes were 13 percent, which was the lowest turnout and the highest number of invalid votes in the history of presidential elections in Iran. In the eleventh parliamentary election, the voter turnout was 42.57 percent, which was the lowest turnout in elections in the Islamic Republic.
The twelfth parliamentary election, along with the sixth election of the Assembly of Experts, will be held on March 1st this year.