Fewer Iranians turned up to vote this year, fearing that it is ‘useless’ to vote when other politicians put a stop to any progress. Others find candidates untrustworthy and unable to keep their
As very few Iranians turned up to the vote for their president on Friday, some claimed that voting was « useless, » the Associated Press reported. « Anyone who wins the election after some time says he cannot solve problem of the economy because of intervention by influential people. He then forgets his promises and we poor people again are disappointed, » said Ali Hosseini, a 36-year-old resident of Tehran. Normally, long lines would be seen at the polling stations with cars and minibusses zigzagged through the capital’s streets with campaign slogans. This year, the streets were filled with very light traffic and the typical passion was absent. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. As Iranian state TV showed people streaming to cast their ballots Friday and news anchors praised them for coming out to vote, very different scenes played out on Tehran’s streets, where many polling places appeared relatively empty. Amid rising anger and apathy over a presidential vote tipped in favor of Ebrahim Raisi, the hard-line judiciary chief cultivated by Iran’s supreme leader, the election atmosphere was distinctly subdued. Throngs of reporters packed Tehran’s turquoise-domed Hosseinieh Ershad institute, photographing officials and ordinary Iranians casting ballots. The images of journalists pushing and jostling in the polling place were carried by local media and international broadcasters. But that scene was at odds with what people saw at 16 different polling stations across Tehran, where lines were short and no more than eight voters at a time could be seen casting ballots. Some polls remained virtually deserted throughout the day—a stark contrast to ice cream shops and restaurants nearby. Of two dozen voters interviewed at various stations, more than half said they’d voted for Raisi.
