Reactions to the Council Lists

The government-aligned newspaper Iran reported with the headline "Council Lists in the Wave of Criticism" that the residents of the capital have finally seen the final lists of the "Principlists" and "Reformists" for the city council elections. Among them, there were many names previously speculated to be included in the "Principlists" list. However, the "Reformists" list, contrary to expectations, featured unfamiliar names that received negative reactions immediately upon publication. The newspaper noted that "the prolonged delay in finalizing the list, announcing a call, and creating a mechanism for categorizing candidates promised a completely different list," stating that "many had even come to believe that with such intense scrutiny, the Reformists' list for the fifth term could win all 21 council seats." However, "the publication of the promised list late Tuesday was not very satisfying, so much so that before it made its way to all official media, it appeared on tweets and Telegram posts, leaving audiences wondering why, despite the high number of specialists, popular and recognized figures among the Reformists, the opportunity to occupy any seat was given to individuals with less experience and expertise?" The newspaper Aftab Yazd, in its front page on Thursday, titled "Quiet Elimination of Rivals," examined the strategy of Hassan Rouhani and Jahangiri in the third debate, stating that "the last debate will be Rouhani and Qalibaf's attempt to attract the votes of indifferent citizens," as "Raisi's position is secure. He cannot attract gray votes and is only relying on the Principlists." This newspaper pointed out that "the first and second debates, from many perspectives, were more about destructive attacks from Rouhani's rival against him than about presenting programs or correct responses to the people's problems," and even "many have criticized Rouhani for becoming so engrossed in defending himself that he forgot the best defense is an attack, resulting in him targeting the weaknesses of figures like Qalibaf and Raisi with less enthusiasm than his rival." However, from another perspective, "Rouhani did the best he could in these two debates: patience, appropriate responses, and maintaining the dignity of a president." Saeed Leilaz, an economic expert, told Aftab Yazd that "the third debate, which is economic, has a major feature: it highlights the strengths of Rouhani and Jahangiri and the weaknesses of their rival, which is why they (the rivals) want to steer the debate towards peripheral and tense discussions." However, "Rouhani should not fall into Qalibaf's trap and become ensnared in the periphery; he must be more focused and calmer than in the previous two debates," while "Jahangiri may focus more on the peripheral issues that Rouhani's rivals are trying to create, while Mr. Rouhani should concentrate on programs and fundamental issues." This economic expert emphasized that "Rouhani's government's performance in the economic sector has been exceptional over the past four years," stating that "although most people are still in severe economic distress, it does not mean we have not worked hard; rather, we have performed very well, but Rouhani's government has been late in addressing the economic problems and the Iranian economy has suffered serious damages." Aftab Yazd also emphasized that "Raisi and Qalibaf have a tough task ahead in the third economic debate because they must certainly provide appropriate responses to their election promises, which are primarily economic, defending promises such as tripling subsidies, increasing incomes by 5.2 times, and creating millions of jobs each year, along with defending some economic cases." Mohammad Sadegh Javadihesar, a reformist political activist, also told Aftab Yazd that Rouhani does not need to "attack and cross red lines in the third debate. He can win the field with the same calmness and dignity he has shown in previous debates while keeping an eye on some of the events occurring on the rival's side, but he must cast aside any animosity; that very dignity irritates the opponent more." In contrast, "many want to provoke Mr. Rouhani, but he should not make statements in the debates that evoke the memory of Ahmadinejad or Qalibaf today." This newspaper also quoted Javadihesar as saying: "The winner of the last debate, the economic debate, will be Eshaq Jahangiri. Mr. Jahangiri has so much statistical data at his disposal that when an accusation is made against the government, he can defend it and show how far those statements are from reality. Jahangiri can perform very well in the last debate, although he should not act in a way that makes it feel like he is overshadowing Mr. Rouhani." Kayhan, published under the supervision of the Supreme Leader's representative, emphasized on its front page that "the government should not evade in the debate," stating: "As the eleventh government nears its end, people are struggling with economic problems and expect presidential candidates in the economic debate to discuss the reasons for the current crisis and solutions for changing the current situation instead of evading responsibility." This newspaper described Rouhani's recent remarks as "political suicide" and stated: "The economy is this government's Achilles' heel. Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the government. The officials are well aware of this issue and are likely preparing themselves for this tough situation." Kayhan also accused Rouhani of saying that if he "had a satisfactory record, he would not be desperate, and if this record had been accepted by the people, he would not be banging his head against the wall. He would proudly focus on his achievements rather than destroy others' achievements. Attacking the IRGC, the army, the judiciary, and our military capabilities, and making statements contrary to national security, in a nutshell, appearing as a full-fledged opposition to the system means the government has nothing to offer, and this is a way to excite the atmosphere to shut down people's rationality and gather votes; of course, this is our optimistic view," otherwise, "a person who disrupts the country's security without regard to the sensitive regional conditions is either deceived and unwittingly completing the enemy's unfinished design or thinking of something other than the elections." This newspaper emphasized that "the government has nothing to say in the economic field," and therefore "government officials may not adhere to ethical and electoral principles in tomorrow's debate, possibly making accusations against candidates and organizations. In response to the important public question, 'What has the government done for the people in the economic field over the past four years?' they may say the country is in a security situation; we have gender discrimination, we did not allow social media to be filtered, or they may talk about house arrest and media bans to evade the main topic of the debate, which is the economy. Rivals should not be fooled and lose the game rules." Morteza Moballegh, Deputy Political Minister in Khatami's second government, also told Shargh newspaper, while giving "advice to Rouhani for the last debate," that several key points should not be forgotten; one is that "the disasters of empty and unrealistic slogans, and most importantly, paying money to people should be recounted. Although the Iranian people are aware and have experienced these slogans once, they still need to be explained well," and the second point that "should be considered is that the rival current has subtly changed the roles of the questioner and the respondent, while the Principlist current should be accountable for the performance of the past eight years and the damages inflicted on the country for two decades." This reformist figure also stated: "The third point that should be noted is that Rouhani and Jahangiri, even in the unsuitable atmosphere created by the Principlists in the debates, should announce the programs of the future government. Especially, it should be conveyed to the people that if they could not appoint capable forces in this government due to the ninth parliament, with the presence of the tenth parliament, a strong cabinet will be formed to effectively implement the government's programs." The newspaper Bahar also reported with the headline "The Third Debate; The Challenge of Wealth," referring to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's suggestion to declare "personal wealth and assets," stating: "Candidates from the opposition are displaying, and now that they are playing instead of engaging in politics, how good it would be for us to play by their rules. In response to Qalibaf's suggestion, he can be invited to a meeting, and all government officials can announce their readiness to exchange their assets with the mayor of Tehran and his managers." This newspaper also referenced a suggestion by Bijan Zanganeh, the oil minister who has held the position in various governments over the years, who stated: "I have years of ministerial experience, meaning I work in the most profitable ministry in the country with the highest financial turnover, and if I were to be a businessman, I should have the most income and assets by now. My suggestion to Mr. Qalibaf is that we exchange our assets! That is, everything I and my family have should be registered in Mr. Qalibaf's name, and everything Mr. Qalibaf and his family have should be registered in my name; this is very simple, and if he is ready, we can go to a meeting at the earliest opportunity, and I am ready for this." The newspaper Etemad published a letter from 50 Iranian economists in support of Hassan Rouhani on its front page on Thursday. This newspaper wrote that "50 Iranian economists in an open letter urged the Iranian people to vote for Hassan Rouhani in the twelfth presidential election. These economists, who had criticized some of the practices of the eleventh government over the past four years, believe that under current conditions, the continuity of the eleventh government can help solve some problems, especially in the field of social justice, while changing the government and having Rouhani's rivals in charge, considering the experience of the ninth and tenth governments, is not only ineffective but also problematic." Among the 50 economists who signed this letter are figures such as Mohammad Setareh Far, Farshad Momeni, Mohsen Renani, Behrouz Zanoz, Jafar Abadi, Zahra Karimi, Hamid Reza Baradaran Sharaka, Abbas Shakri, Hossein Raghfar, Mahmoud Khataei, and Hassan Taee and Mohammad Hossein Sharifzadegan. Part of this letter addressed to "the people of Iran" states: "You came to the scene in 2013 and with a wise choice brought a hopeful, reassuring, and stable atmosphere to the country. The eleventh government inherited an economic ruin with collapsed policymaking and expert institutions, a multitude of commitments and debts, an empty treasury, high inflation, heavy sanctions, and a crippling recession. Although over the past four years, there has not been a significant improvement in the quality of life for some segments of society, the great nation must know that stopping the processes that exacerbate poverty and misery, which were the legacy of the previous government, was not an easy task, just as the strong resistance of the beneficiaries of the institutional structure encouraging non-productive sectors has hindered the advancement of the productive sectors of the country, which cannot be achieved without the cooperation of other powers." The newspaper Shahrvand reported with the headline "Astronomical Taxes," stating: "The promise of increasing taxes by 100 times has astonished businesses, economic activists, and experts." This newspaper noted that "one of the presidential candidates promised to increase taxes by 100 times," stating that this "promise has not been well received by market traders and producers. The tradespeople, who have long been struggling with market recession and have repeatedly closed their businesses in protest against imposed taxes, are now faced with an interesting tax promise during the election campaign." Ali Fazeli, head of the Chamber of Guilds, told Shahrvand that "increasing the country's taxes by 100 times does not make sense and is clearly a topic raised without expert analysis. He emphasized that there are 650,000 production units, 850,000 service units, and 300,000 distribution units. These units have problems paying the current taxes, so how can some people talk about an unreasonable increase in taxes?" The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a warning from the Supreme Leader, quoting Ali Khamenei as saying: "Anyone who acts against the security of the country will be punished." According to this newspaper, the Supreme Leader advised candidates in the twelfth presidential election to "clearly state in their programs and statements that economic issues and the livelihood of the people are their priorities and that they will strive to solve economic problems," and in addition, "they should be cautious not to provoke ideological, geographical, linguistic, and ethnic fault lines in the country." This newspaper close to the IRGC simultaneously wrote: "As the date of the twelfth presidential election approaches, the foreign media network, in clear coordination with the chain newspapers of the reformists, disregarding the interests of the system and the people and prioritizing party and factional interests over national interests and security, is blowing the trumpet of a bipolar war and peace, pursuing its goals with the project of the past being the guide for the future along with the sub-project of candidate-phobia." The newspaper Javan accused Rouhani, without naming him, of polarizing the electoral atmosphere, stating: "From some candidates, we have witnessed misleading addresses and attempts to create false dichotomies aimed at deceiving and attracting the people's attention and turning them against..."