Mohammad Dadkan, Former Sports Official, Says: People Don't Vote Because They Don't Like Us

Mohammad Dadkan, the former president of the Iranian Football Federation, addressed the authorities ahead of the presidential elections in Iran, stating: "People don't vote because they don't like us." This former sports official, who has repeatedly criticized the widespread mismanagement and corruption in the Islamic Republic over the years, attributed the loss of people's beliefs to political and religious theft in an interview with the 'Iran Watch' website. He mentioned 'lies' and 'corruption' as necessary traits for being appointed to sports and governmental positions, and considered the sidelining of footballers such as Voria Ghafouri, Ali Daei, and Karim Bagheri, or the exile of Ali Karimi, as a result of the government's actions. Dadkan cited the sidelining of popular figures by the Iranian government as a reason for the public's lack of participation in elections. Following the twelfth round of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections held on March 2, 2024, the first representative of Tehran, Mahmoud Nabavian, received the lowest votes compared to all his counterparts from the previous eleven terms, from 1979 to 2019. In the second round of the parliamentary elections in Tehran, held in May of this year, only 8% of voters went to the polls. In part of his interview, Dadkan criticized Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran and a presidential candidate, calling his mosque construction plan in Qitriyeh Park a 'display of religion' and a 'jumping-off point' for power-sharing in the government. The former president of the Iranian Football Federation also reported public dissatisfaction with the officials of the Islamic Republic and called for a referendum. He stated: 'People who do not accept our politics know that we cannot run this country.' He added: 'Take a referendum from the people.' Dadkan had previously criticized the suppression of protesters during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests.