ELECTION

Don't vote because you're bored...

Don't vote because it isn't a real election.

Any election where the candidates are chosen by a leader with all the power who isn't elected, is dictatorship.

By voting you are merely sanctioning the process of the dictatorship. which gives them license to continue. If no one voted the system would fall apart and true democracy would become the apparent choice of Iranians.

Don't blame Mousavi for stepping in for Khatami, who was threatened and dropped out.

Even if any of these "choices" provided for us to choose from is elected, what power does he have? Can he even go near instituting systemic reforms? Of course not. He has no power to do anything constitutional, even with the majority of the majles behind him. 

That is Constitutionally the job of the Supreme Leader. Worse, even he can't change the constitution of Iran to eliminate his position.

Think about that as you worry needlessly over which president is more Obama-like.

This election like every single one before it is a sham and a clever technique (that is even working on this post it seems!) designed to instill enthusiastic patriotism, but ultimate compliance and sanction with "the way things will continue to be done". Without free debate, without majority rule by law.

A fascist's a fascist's a fascist...

no matter whether a hardliner or a softliner.

re: Jimmy

"This is an insult to my intelligence. "

I'm sorry to say but you have no intelligence. Go read a book or two on how democracies come about over 100s of years of struggle and not overnight.

Dont vote and, as 2Anonymous2323 rightly said, be prepared to have 4 more years of Ahmadinejad on your tv screens.

Setareh jan

As Abarmard already mentioned, electing a new president to replace Ahmadinejad has a much bigger impact on the lives of Iranians inside the country than it would ours. Granted these candidates were approved by the "majles khobregan" so naturally they are on a completely different platform than many of us who oppose the regime's authoritarian rule, but they differ in the way Iranians would live and be treated. 

Look at the Wall St Journal's article that was posted by SCE campaign in the news section: //online.wsj.com/article/SB124355320443064445.html 

The activists in Iran, the human rights lawyers and the women who are fighting for equality will definitely need to see things change. Two of the candidates are already speaking of such changes. It may not mean much to us, but to some it's a matter of freedom or imprisonment,  life or death...

It looks like the boycotting of the election will result in another term for Ahmadinejad which in turn would guaranty more international tension and probably more strict sanctions and eventually regime change by foreign military forces.   (or that's what they hope)

The question would be what is more important: helping the activists inside Iran to gain some freedom and enable them to chip away at the IRI discriminatory and cruel laws, or hope that the tension would rise enough to pave the road for importing democracy to Iran , so some pseudo political opposition in diaspora would be welcomed back to take over the newly established government, the way they did in Iraq?

To me that's enough inspiration to vote for the first time in an Iranian election. I would have voted for Karroubi if the turban didn't turn me off so much (I know how this old hangup sounds pitiful and shallow but can't help it).

As for the American elections and inspiring politicians, I think Kucinich had a better vision and was the best democrat running. Obama won because of his "inspirational" speeches and despite Hillary, but he is dragging his foot on many important issues now and put Hillary in charge of the state dept. Inspiring speeches can't do much after the election is over.

Thanks for the well written article, and I am sorry for the long comment.

IRANdokht

Setareh, my first reaction to Mousavi's speech was...

a big yawn, but this is not a beauty contest. The bottom line is the incumbent, in this case Ahmadinejad, will be a sure winner if the people who do not support him stay away from the polls. Va salam, nameh tamam.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

خدمت حاجیه خانم ثابتی دامت برکاته

امیدوارم درس امروزت را یاد گرفته باشی‌. اگر رای ندی، احمقینژاد میاد رو کار و عقب میافتی، حالا به فکر خودت نباش و فکر این طفل معصومها را در سفارات ایران در خارج کن که چه‌ها میکشند از دست این محمودی. اگر رای بدی توگوشی میزنی‌ به سلطنتطلبها و مجاهدین. خلاصه از خر شیطون بیا پایین و انقدر لجبازی نکن، قهر نکن و رای بده که یه فوتی کرده باشی‌ به این طفلکیا تو ایران که از گرما هلاک شدن. راستی‌ یادت نره به کروبی رای بدی که مرد دلیر لرستانه. گول عمامشو نخور، بسیار مترقیه و قول داده به هر کس یا پنجاه هزار تومن بده یا یه خر مفتی.

True vote

A true vote is a vote that was thought of, reflected on. I cannot simply go and vote for some candidate because he/she is the best of the bad choices. This is an insult to my intelligence.

I would say that being boring is not a good enough excuse in any election, but I think I get Setareh’s point. I think the policies and ideas are what should convince someone to vote for a specific candidate.

In that regard, I don’t find that Mousavi has to offer anything special. I listened to him and he does not have anything that I would call a plan.

By plan, I mean talking about real scientific economic policies, not “hajibazari” style of economy. For God’s sake, Iran has a population of 70 million and all he talks about is Amir Kabir and how he wanted Iran to have a national economy! That was 150 years ago and we had no technology, no means of transportation, no oil, no budget, no Parliament. Let's talk about now. He keeps on saying that our destiny is not poverty...That's a slogan, what about the plan?

He talks vaguely about big and small projects, but doesn’t name one specific project, or give any specific detail, any statistics, any real number…he doesn’t specify how much money/percentage of budget he will invest in specific fields (research, development, universities, sports, arts, health care...)

What about social measures? Other than constantly talking about Islamic values and so on, what is his real vision of Iran, one based on sociological facts? We have serious addiction problem in Iran, prostitution, beggars, and we have real tragedies. There is corruption; there are arbitrary arrests, lack of freedom, and lack of opportunities...There is a serious brain drain which is costing billions per year to the economy. What are his measures to stop it and bring millions of Iranians back home? What does he plan on doing? Only talking about moral police and superficial measures will not suffice.

What about real foreign policy, not the simplified vision of Iran’s role (Iran is a great country, blabla), but the real major issues: nuclear standoff, Caspian Sea, relations with US, with Arab world, with Israel, Russia, China, the position of Iran in the region, the potential markets. What is his vision? Just that the US should show better signs and we will do the same! Wow.

What bothers me the most is how much he praises “Emam” Khomeyni in his speeches and TV ads (and he makes sure to say the Arabic sentence that always follows “rahtmatolllah aleyh or something like that).

Why would I vote for someone who praises a man who was the very reason why I had to leave Iran, a man forced millions of young Iranians to go to a war that was useless (after Iran liberated its territory) and signed decrees allowing the mass executions of thousands of innocents?

Important to note

That since you do not live in Iran, what you would be doing with voting is selfless act for the Iranians inside. A little breeze for them is very refreshing while it might not give us any kick.

From the founder of the Revolutionary Guards

شرکت در این شبه انتخابات لزوما به معنی مسیری درست برای گذار به دموکراسی در کشور نیست. عدم شرکت مردم هم لزوما به معنی بر سر کار آوردن آقای احمدی نژاد نیست. چرا که در دوره قبلی انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، در مرحله اول آقای کروبی و درمرحله دوم آقای رفسنجانی برنده آراء مردم بودند، اما سرانجام آقای احمدی نژاد رئیس جمهور شد.

//www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/06/090603_i...

بنظر من همه

بنظر من همه افراد ی که در این رژیم هستند،دزدند و اصولا اگر دزد نبودند به این حکومت راه پیدا نمی کردند حالا مسئله اینست که مثلا فلان شخص بیشتر دزدیده و لج بقیه درامده و دست به افشاگری می زنند.

Listen to Hadi

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YclTGkf8FWo

Do the right thing - VOTE

After reading this article and comments so far (in my view very poor reasoning for not voting) I am more convinced than before that I will vote because that would be the RIGHT thing to do

Too much at stake!

I hope every Iranian votes to accomplish three very important things.

First, Iran can't afford Ahmadinejad just as the US could not afford another 4 years of Republican rule;

Second, to show that Iranians are not happy with the current state of affairs which will send a message that Iran does not want to be isolated (this will strengthen the hand of Mousavi for change and reform); and

Third, to remind the Shah-i crowd (and the sick MKO cult) that Iran has moved on.  Get on board or stay behind...further and further behind. 

To Setareh

You said "I do not want to sound like the LA-cable-TV-monarchists who should have shut up and closed shop after their calls for a boycott of elections failed so utterly four years ago."

I don't know if you've noticed it but contrary to what you are saying here with which I agree, almost 90% of the utterly desperate (acting like drowning individuals grasping at straws) commentators on this Website keep constantly complaining, shouting and nagging for the last few weeks that Ahmadinejad could pop out of the ballot box as president ONLY and ONLY due to the widepread boycot of "elections" four years ago and they use that as a pretext to justify voting in that farce of an election and participation in mullahs' theatrics.

If you want excitement - rent a thriller

Iranians living abroad - who are fed a steady diet of slick, bubble-gum-style, shallow politics - will indeed find Iranian politicians boaring. But that's no reason to discourage others from voting. A change from Ahmadinejad to Moussavi may not give Iranians abroad their beloved regime change but will indeed improve people's lives here in Iran... and that's important.

Even in a limited democracy - it's important to speak up and to get involved. It puts other on-guard. It lets them know that you exist and you want to be counted.

The "don't-vote-because-it-doesn't-matter" voices from abroad only help the status quo.

Announcement

I guess, a person suffering dissociative identity disorder has written this article: ... I don’t believe a boycott would be effective ... I will not vote ... I agree that any form of elections is better than none ... I no longer hope for a regime change ... :)

Great, just criticising, very powerful. What is your solution? You don´t want me to call you Bee-savad, why not? Nothing more than hot air?

I´ve been reading these criticisms for more than three months. So what is your contribution? Sitting home Ghar-kardeh claiming Gonah Daram and because of Lajh-bazee letting other people decide for you? Very bee-farhangee.

By the way, it´s high time to become team players, this is not a vanity fair. What the liberal Iranian population wants me to vote, I will do.

Iranians cannot afford not to vote because candidate is boring

Dear Setareh Sabety, as I was just getting ready to sit down and write a blog in support of voting for Mousavi, I saw your article.  You write about Mousavi being boring in his speeches.  That is what I heard from my friends in Iran about 10 days ago but this boring guy seems to be inspiring people in Iran.  Stakes are simply too high for us in diaspora to knock down a reformist candidate in Iran just because he sounds boring.  I have forgotten the exact sentence but many years ago, maybe about 30 yaers ago, I read an article from "Maxim Gorky".  In it, he had written his belief that it is not the specific man who makes the history but the history that makes the man.  Basically, the point of his comment is that when situations are ripe for a leader to emerge, a person will emerge.  As much as people might think that person is extraordinary and course of events would not have happened without his being, the history would have happened probably close to what happened with that man even if that man(or woman) was not the leader. It is simply the fact that at that cross section of time, that person is becoming a vehicle for change.  I do not live in Iran and I do not even follow what happens there as closely as some other Iranians in diaspora do.  However, I feel that at this moment, Mousavi is that vehicle for change.  Like you, I know that Karroubi might be more radical but it seems from my contacts in Iran that Mousavi is the one that history is trusting at this moment to be a positive force for change.  That is why I recommend voting for Mousavi even if he bores you very much.  I have seen far too many charismatic leaders and know that charisma does not necessarily translate to positive changes in society for everyday people.  Dear Setareh, I am going to make a blog out of this comment and please do not feel that I have singled you out.  It is just the fact that your article was the vehicle for me to start verbalizing my feelings regarding this election.  For that I thank you sincerely.

Dont vote...

And enjoy 4 more years of Ahmadinejad! Enjoy what the people around you, in the media say about Ahmadinejad's Iran. Beause that's what they will remember, the average citizen of the world of Iran. The image of the bad-mouthed hardliner Ahmadinejad.