Revisiting the 'Showcase of Democracy'; Domestic Media Claims Over 40% Participation in Elections

While Ali Khamenei previously deemed 40% participation in elections in some countries as 'a disgrace', government media announced shortly after the voting deadline that public participation in the elections on March 2 was over 40%. The Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, labeled the election boycott as a 'failed project' and claimed that 'anti-revolutionary' media attempted to depict participation below 20%, but were unsuccessful with '25 million participants'. However, reports from the audience of Voice of America and videos and images shared by other Persian-language television networks abroad and on social media contradict the claims of government media, indicating widespread silence and boycott of the elections by the Iranian people. Abram Paley, Deputy Special Representative for Iran at the U.S. State Department, tweeted on March 2 regarding the elections in the Islamic Republic: 'The Iranian regime seeks to use this election as a showcase of democracy, but has disqualified thousands of candidates. The Iranian people know well that this election, whatever the outcome, does not represent them, and we agree with them.' He reiterated the United States' commitment to stand with the Iranian people and stated, 'We will continue to expose regime officials involved in human rights violations that deny the fundamental freedoms of Iranians and will stand with Iranians in their struggle for a free and democratic future.' Jason Brodsky, head of policy at the United Against a Nuclear Iran organization, stated a day earlier to Voice of America’s Persian section: 'Elections in Iran are a show whose end is predetermined by Ali Khamenei, and the role of the people is merely to decorate the stage of this show.' Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, also told Voice of America’s Persian section on March 1 that 'Elections in the Islamic Republic are neither free nor fair, and many people in Iran know this and have no expectations from the government.' The Islamic Republic's statistical claims regarding participation in the March 2 elections come at a time when many pre-election polls indicated lower-than-expected public participation. A poll conducted by the Gaman polling group on February 28 showed that public participation in the March 2 elections was expected to be between 25% and 30% nationwide, with participation in Tehran expected to be only 11%. The elections for the Islamic Council and the Assembly of Experts concluded while over 50% of registered candidates, including former President Hassan Rouhani and many critical representatives in the 11th Parliament, were disqualified by the Guardian Council. Mohammad Khatami, the reformist president, also did not participate in the voting, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose election in 2009 was met with widespread protests over election fraud, went to the polls in the final hours. The claim of enthusiastic public participation in the elections contradicts images of the public on social media; reports indicate that citizens view elections in the Islamic Republic as a facade.