TEHRAN, Iran — Opinion polls show Reformists and moderates have the upper hand ahead of Iran’s key upcoming parliament and Assembly of Experts elections. This has caused serious apprehension among hard-liners about a possible landslide victory for supporters of President Hassan Rouhani. To avoid such an outcome, hard-liners have brought into play a scheme that few could have imagined: getting people to abstain from taking part in the elections and making them doubt the results.
In a speech that signals the anxiety of the hard-liners, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, head of the main Principlist ticket for the parliamentary elections, said, “During the previous elections, [foreign] satellite TV channels [opposed to the Islamic Republic] used to constantly urge people not to participate in the elections; however, now they are instructing people to cast their votes and have even introduced their preferred candidates.” Moreover, Mehdi Chamran, the conservative chairman of Tehran City Council, said, “Instead of boycotting the elections, the enemies are telling people which candidates they [should] cast their votes for and whom to leave out."
