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As Iran's election campaign picks up, boycott gains momentum as well

Only one month out from Iran's presidential election, calls are growing for a boycott of the vote, widely seen as an undemocratic process with dim prospects of genuine change. 
ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Over 230 dissidents and civil society activists in Iran have called on fellow citizens to boycott the country's presidential election slated for June 18.

In an open letter addressing the Iranian nation, the signees described the election as little beyond a "formality." The activists demanded that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down as the first stage in a peaceful transition from a system led by a cleric to a secular state compliant with the United Nations Charter. "Let's boycott the show election so that the unpopular establishment will not endure," the letter reads.

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