Boycott Next Year's Majlis Elections

There has been much discussion among reformist circles whether there should be a totally boycott and non-participation in next year's Majlis Elections. It seems the prevailing view is that unless many reasonable demands such as the release of political prisoners is not met, then there should be a boycott. Since I believe it is clear these demands will not be met, I say that starting today there should be a boycott organized of the elections.

The fact that the June 2009 presidential election was competely fradulant means that we have no confidence in the electoral system. In the past, the Guardian Council had limited the choice of candidates, but the counting of the votes seemed to be pretty straightfoward. With this reality changed in the last election, why participate in something that we know will very well could be rigged.

Some may suggest that a boycott will hand a victory to the hardliners and allow them to continue to control the Majlis, but this would happen anyways given the vote rigging. There are some reformists in the current Majlis, but they do little and give a sense of legitimicy in the current regime. These members would be better served to work outside of the regime in order to bring change.

I have in the past been for participating in elections in the Islamic Republic because I thought they might do some good. The experience of the past 2 years has thought me that the regime has entered into a new phase and we too must enter into a new phase of opposition. Our energy should not be focused on fradulent elections, but rather on bringing radical change from outside the regime like the other revolutionary movements in the Middle East.

Yet going beyond this boycott, I think there should be the beginning of a parallel government set up and even elections set up through social media that I will expand upon in an upcoming post.