Statement of the Tudeh Party of Iran:

The Resolute Response of the People of Iran to the "Election" Show of the Theocratic Regime

With the announcement of the final vote count in the "election" show planned by the Supreme Leader and the related agencies of the "Leadership Office," the overwhelming majority of the nation once again wisely and vigilantly expressed their detestationof the continuation of the Islamic Republic and its ploysto promote its "popular" and "legitimate" status globally. 

According to the published statistics, even the padded numbers released by the Ministry of Interior, only about 40% of the people participated in this flawed show. Based on the final announced results, the total counted votes were 24,535,185. The Ministry of Interior had previously announced that over 61,452,321 people inside and outside of Iran were eligible to vote. Therefore, the turnout rate in this election does not even reach 40%. Considering the invalid and void votes, which are estimated at 1.7%, and subtracting this figure from 40%, then the actual turnout in this election show would be about 38% of eligible voters, i.e. the lowest of the Islamic Republic's elections so far. It is worth noting that the number of invalid votes, reported to be over one million, is five times more than the votes cast for Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a criminal and a member of the regime's "Death Commission" during the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners. 

The resolute response of the people to the regime's deceitful and calculated maneuvers, including qualifying Masoud Pezeshkian's as a candidate by the direct order of the Supreme Leader to the Guardian Council, is another clear indication that despite all the efforts of the regime's authorities, state-affiliated reformists, and a very small number of professional advocatesof "elections" under this regime, who under various deceiving covers such as "opposition" and "national and anti-imperialist left" wake up from their hibernation at the kick off of elections and encourage people to cast vote and to see a "ray of hope" in "choosing between the bad and the worse," our people are consciously strive to put an end to this anti-people and despotic regime.

It is worth noting that in the days leading to the election, Ali Khamenei urged people with all viewpoints to participate in the "election," and when casting his vote on the election day, he described people's participation in this election as a "critical need" for the Islamic Republic, adding: "The longevity, strength, honor, and reputation of the Islamic Republic in the world depend on the people's presence [at the political arena]." 

The boycott of this electoral by the overwhelming majority of the country's popular and freedom-seeking forces, especially women and working people, a large number of political prisoners, families seeking justice, Zahra Rahnavard and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and the overwhelming majority of radical reformists aligned with the popular movement, demonstrated the continued cooperation of a wide range of the country's freedom-seeking forces. This cooperation was also clearly manifested in the 2021 presidential election and the 2024 parliamentary elections in March and continues to shine as a beacon of hope for future collaborations in other areas to help grow and strengthen the nation's popular movement. 

The "Election" in the Second Round and the False Slogan of a "Ray of Hope" to Imply the Regime's Reformability 

With the announcement of the final vote counts and the fact that none of the ratified candidates managed to secure more than fifty percent of the votes, the election show goes to the second round. The [defeated] fundamentalist candidates have already endorsed Saeed Jalili [the fundamentalist candidate in the second round].

It is expected that the regime-affiliated reformists and other forces for the survival of the Islamic Republic to take to the streets with great fanfare and proclaim that we must all strive to prevent the election of Saeed Jalili and instead elect Masoud Pezeshkian [the so-called reformist]. This effort to mobilize the people comes despite the fact that Pezeshkian has repeatedly emphasized in tv interviews that he is "devoted to the Supreme Leader" and has no authority or power to determine the course of action on the most critical issues facing the country, from foreign and intelligence policies to the release of politicalprisoners and preventing the regime's thugs from routine violent assaults on our nation's women. We are confident that our vigilant and mindfulpeople of Iran will thwart the regime's show of choosing between "the bad and the worse" in the second round of the "election" with their emphatic boycott.

The deceptive slogan of a "ray of hope" in the current circumstances, especially after the bloody suppression of the popular "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising and the surge in labour protests and strikes, including the strike of tens of thousands of project workers in the oil industry and its affiliated companies, follows a specific goal. The proponents and defenders of this slogan aim to calm the severely crisis-ridden and turbulent society and foster the illusion that the regime is changing its course. Thus, by participating in thiselection show and securing the victory of the "reformist" candidate, some minor elements of the people's rights can be realized. 

The experience of the recent decades have clearly shown that the Islamic Republic is an absolute and anti-people dictatorship based on the principle of "Supreme Leadership" and is in no way reformable. If it allows someone like Pezeshkian to participate in the election show, it is entirely based on the regime's strategic plans for its survival.

The Tudeh Party of Iran stands alongside the progressive and freedom-seeking forces and the overwhelming majority of the nation who have given a clear response to the regime's election show. As stated in our statement before the "election" was held, our Party believes that the deep and widespread chasm between the vast majority of the society and the ruling dictatorship is irreparable. A major part of the society, especially the working class and other groups of the working people, as well as the women, youth, and students, demand fundamental changes in political and social arenas and a transition beyond this despotic regime. The Islamic Republic is in a state of decay and is facing crises and difficult decisions for its survival; decisions that necessarily may not guarantee its survival. By intensifying the joint and united struggle of all the patriotic and freedom-seeking forces in the country, we can move towards ending this dictatorship and establishing a national and democratic government.

 Tudeh Party of Iran

29 June 2024