Will Iranians be able to increase voter turnout in the next election?
Even though Iran's Reformist movement suffered a huge setback during the election qualification process, Reformist leaders are encouraging members to cast their votes.
Despite the mass disqualifications of Reformist candidates by the conservative Guardian Council for the February parliamentary elections, leaders of the Iran Reformist bloc are encouraging members to turn out and vote.
Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Reformist Policymaking Council, wrote a letter to Reformist young people Jan. 27 encouraging “maximum participation” in the elections. As reported earlier, only 30 of the 3,000 Reformists who registered to run were approved.
A record 12,000 candidates applied to be registered; the Guardian Council said it did not have time to review all the applications.
Among the 2013 presidential candidates, Aref was the sole Reformist. At the urging of Reformist former President Mohammad Khatami, Aref pulled out of those elections in favor of Hassan Rouhani, who was elected president. Now Aref is running in the parliamentary elections and is perhaps the most well-known active Reformist politician.
