Jafar Panahi: The Islamic Republic is Experiencing 'Fear of Illegitimacy' Due to Lack of Participation

Jafar Panahi, the renowned filmmaker, attributed the overwhelming non-participation of Iranians in the government's 'elections' to the 'fear of illegitimacy' faced by the Islamic Republic. Veteran actor Mohammad Omrani also sarcastically remarked that the apparent goal of 'reform' has been to reform the people rather than the government. On Thursday, July 5, Panahi shared images of a 'no' vote against the Islamic Republic's ballot box on Instagram, stating: 'The lack of participation of at least 60% of the people in the first round of the presidential election has confronted the regime with a fear of illegitimacy.' He emphasized that the 'silence of the first few days' from Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials indicates the impact of this significant 'no' on the Islamic Republic, and that the government is trying to inflate participation statistics in the second round to cover up this historical defeat. According to Panahi, 'If this happens, the regime will gain an opportunity to renew its strength and reinforce its repressive structures, increasing its power by pressuring the people through imposing its lifestyle and indoctrinating its rigid thoughts into the fabric of society.' He also stressed that in such a case, 'it is unclear how much longer we must achieve this great cohesion, which we gained through non-participation in elections, with the blood and lives of our children in the streets and prisons.' The prominent filmmaker added: 'Now it is up to the people to announce their civil opposition to the government's policies through non-participation in elections, in the simplest and least costly way, and to push back this fabric of rigidity and pave the way for the realization of their democratic aspirations.' Additionally, Mohammad Omrani, a veteran actor of cinema and theater, in a video message published on Instagram, described reformism in the Islamic Republic as a strategy for 'reforming the people' and turning them 'from opponents to supporters.' He stated: 'Years have passed, and our youth has been wasted, until we realized that the reforms of this strange creature are not meant to reform the Islamic Republic but to reform us. That is, to turn us from opponents to supporters.' Omrani emphasized that the results of the first round of the government's 'elections' for the succession of Raisi showed that opponents 'are not reformable, just as the government is not reformable.' This theater and television actor noted that the results of the first round of the government voting and its widespread boycott demonstrated that reformists 'are not a number,' and he referred to the two candidates reaching the second round as 'characterless,' as they have admitted to being 'dissolved in a third party,' whose record shows what has happened to Iran during its lifetime, leading to the conclusion that 'it doesn't matter which one we vote for.' Omrani also posed the question of whether the vast majority that said 'no' to the ruling minority can overcome this minority without having an organization. Previously, in the campaigns of some government candidates for the succession of Ebrahim Raisi, the names of some sports and cultural figures, including Karim Bagheri, have been misused as 'supporters,' prompting reactions and denials from these individuals. The second round of voting between the two candidates considered by the Islamic Republic for the succession of Ebrahim Raisi will be held on Friday, July 6. According to government statistics, the overwhelming majority of Iranians did not participate in the first round of this political event, which opponents describe as a 'circus election' and 'mock appointments.'