Central Council Member of the Participation Front: Why Should We Vote in a System That Claims Its Legitimacy Does Not Come from the People?

Hosseini Mojahid, a member of the Central Council of the Participation Front, on Thursday night (December 18), referring to the doubts of the Iranian people about participating in the seventh parliamentary elections of the country, said: "In a system that explicitly emphasizes that its legitimacy does not come from the people, why should we vote?" Speaking at the office of the Participation Front in Qom, he added: "The opposing side of the reformists has no belief in the people's vote, and for example, Ayatollah Meshkini, the head of the Assembly of Experts, says we derive our legitimacy from the leader." He stated that if the system believes in the legitimacy of divine governance, then it should not make the people a plaything and waste their time, adding: "Even if we set ourselves on fire, a part of the people will not vote." According to the Naqshineh website, Mojahid further noted that the people no longer accept slogans, emphasizing: "Why should people vote? What should people do by voting?" The member of the Central Council of the Participation Front concluded: "If we cannot provide a correct solution for the reasons for people's participation, we will not have a better fate than the city council elections, and 50% of the people will not participate in the elections." Meanwhile, Ali Tajernia, a representative from Mashhad in the parliament, also referred to the reluctance of Iranians to participate in the parliamentary elections, stating: "In the past six years, people have said yes to the reformists four times, while their expectations have not been met." He further criticized Khatami and his recent actions, adding: "If we had acted decisively until today, we would not need to encourage people to participate in the elections now." Tajernia considered the lack of public participation in the city council elections (February 2003) to carry an important message, attributing it to the ineffectiveness of their votes and demands in the fate of Iran. This parliament representative then stated that the conservative faction does not believe in the vote and legitimacy of the people's votes, emphasizing: "There is a current that believes the vote of a scholar and a villager is different. This current believes we are representatives of God who govern the people and representatives of the Imam of the Time. A current that, according to a quote from Saeed Emami, believes that if we do not kill 500 people today, we will have to kill 500,000 tomorrow." He concluded by stating that no one has the power to oppose the will of the people, noting: "If more than 20 to 30 percent of the people do not participate in the elections, it indicates that they have a problem with the government."