Iran press voices concern over presidential poll turnout

TEHRAN — Iranian newspapers voiced concern Sunday about the potential turnout for next month's presidential poll, a day after candidate registration ended with several heavyweights joining the race.

The reformist press was particularly worried, arguing that a low turnout would favour the conservative camp as in legislative elections last year.

On the streets of Tehran, residents openly said they have more important everyday matters to contend with.

"Everything has become more expensive, the rent, food, chicken, meat... We are renters with no income. Who should we vote for? Who can we trust?" asked housewife Fatemeh in Khorassan square.

According to the election committee, close to 600 hopefuls including 40 women have registered for the June 18 vote to elect a successor to moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term.

But only a handful will be allowed to run after vetting by the Guardian Council, a conservative-dominated, unelected body in charge of overseeing elections.

According to the reformist Shargh daily, “various polls” show that “more than half” of eligible voters are expected to abstain.

The election is already widely expected to be a showdown between conservative Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker, and ultraconservative judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi.

A record 57 per cent of Iranian voters stayed away from the February 2020 legislative elections.

This was attributed to the disqualification of thousands of candidates, many of them reformists and moderates, as well as voter disappointment with the economy and Rouhani’s performance.

‘Suffering, discontent’ 

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers was expected to rejuvenate the economy by lifting punishing sanctions.

But those hopes were dashed three years later as the US pulled out and unilaterally reimposed sanctions, tainting much of Rouhani’s second term with a battered economy and unfulfilled promises.

The government-run Iran daily called Sunday for authorities to “guarantee the presence of candidates from [different] political orientations” to increase turnout.

It warned that guardian council disqualifications run a risk of fuelling public “frustration” when the Islamic republic needs high voter participation.

But Massoud, a tradesman in southern Tehran, suggested the mood is already beyond repair. “No president has managed to do his job as he should have. The situation is just getting worse by the day,” he said.

The ultraconservative daily Javan called the election “more important” than previous polls due to the economic and social crises and the ongoing talks between Iran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

It also called for a big turnout to show “strong support for the system”.

However, reformist publication Etemad, quoting analysts, voiced “concern” over voter confidence at a time of “economic suffering and political discontent”.