To Vote Or Not To Vote? Iranians Mull Continuing Presidential Election Boycott

More than 60 percent of Iran's electorate did not vote in the June 28 presidential election, despite it being billed as an important poll given the role that the next president could play in the succession to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

With no candidate managing to secure enough votes to win the election outright, a second round of voting will be held on July 5 between reformist hopeful Masud Pezeshkian and hard-line conservative and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

The record-low turnout came after widespread calls by dissidents at home and abroad to boycott the election, arguing that no change has come from voting in past elections.

Iran has seen a trend of sliding voter turnout since 2020 that is driven in part by a growing frustration over a lack of freedoms, a faltering economy, and declining living standards.

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Reformist And Hard-Liner In Iranian Presidential Election Runoff Amid Record-Low Voter Turnout

Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Sweden-based Iranian political activist Mahdieh Golrou said the declining voter turnout in recent major elections was also the direct result of "a coordinated act of civil disobedience" that allows the disillusioned public to "communicate their dissent to the authorities."

More than 50 political activists in Iran and other countries have called on the masses to continue their boycott going into the July 5 runoff.

"Any political participation or vote for handpicked and powerless candidates is a dark and bitter joke," the activists, including imprisoned Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, said in a statement on June 30.

They argued that by shunning the Islamic republic's "rigged scenarios," the public would place itself in a position of power and facilitate the "fall of the regime."

The Fear Factor

After the June 28 poll, analysts told RFE/RL that the fear of another hard-line president coming to power might compel some who boycotted the first round to vote for Pezeshkian in the runoff.

That now appears to be what Pezeshkian and his supporters on social media are focusing on to convince supporters of the boycott to vote for him.

Pezeshkian on June 30 wrote on X that "the future of Iran is in danger" and that only a high voter turnout could save the country.

Convincing them to cast their ballots will be no easy task, however. Observers have cast doubt on Pezeshkian's credentials as a true reformist, noting that he has been largely supportive of Khamenei's policies and is likely seen as relatively harmless to the aims of the clerical establishment.

Some have said that Pezeshkian would need to present a clearly outlined platform for reforms before opposition-minded voters could be expected to vote for him.

Others have highlighted the dangers of a Jalili presidency, warning that he could double down on the enforcement of the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, for women, and push Iran along a path of total global isolation akin to North Korea.

Former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi vowed that Iranians "will not allow Iran to fall into the hands of the Taliban," a suggestion that hard-line supporters of Iran's Shi'ite clerical establishment did not take kindly to.

Addressing the majority of the electorate who shunned the ballot box, pro-reform lawmaker Gholamreza Tajgardun said their "voices have been heard." However, he urged them to turn out for the second round to "show that together we can" instigate change.

Even if the boycott is broken, voter apathy remains a serious obstacle.

Some in Iran who do not back the boycott have been asking whether there is any point in voting.

Hossein Dehbashi, a documentary filmmaker with ties to the pro-reform movement, asked on X if there was "a difference between bad and worse" if ultimately the government is restricted in what it can and cannot do.

This is a sentiment that many in Iran share, according to France-based sociologist Saeed Peyvandi.

"[Iranian] society no longer easily accepts promises because its trust has repeatedly been betrayed," Peyvandi told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. The Islamic republic has "never understood" people's complaints, he added, and now "trust in the establishment has collapsed."

With reporting by Elaheh Ravanshad of RFE/RL's Radio Farda