University Lecturer: Elections offer no change in Iran

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – In an interview with K24 on Tuesday, Political Science lecturer at the University of Salahaddin, Parwez Rahim said, “Iran has a closed political system, and elections will not make any changes in its policy.”

Referring to parliamentary elections (officially called the Islamic Consultative Assembly),  Rahim added ,”a traditional policy dominates all the laws under the Islamic Republic of Iran and some [personal] demands have surpassed the authorities of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.”

As for the position of opposition political parties, Rahim stated, “The political parties of Iran have two ways forward: either to support a candidate of their own that will not pass the filtering system of the Islamic Republic, or to boycott the elections, which will also have little impact. ”

Rahim suggests that real changes can only take place through the unity of Iran's minority communities associated with the activities of political parties, increased diplomatic endeavors, and a general strike with all minorities' participation. Otherwise, elections will not alter conditions for minorities. 

Rahim emphasizes, “We cannot ignore the role of the western countries in marginalizing issues of Eastern Kurdistan [in Iran] since they mostly care about the nuclear program and economic issues...instead of human rights of those oppressed communities in Iran.”   

On February 26, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold simultaneous legislative elections for both the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts for the first time.

Over 12,000 candidates will compete for 290 parliament seats. Five seats are reserved for Jews, Zoroastrians, Assyrian Christians, Chaldean Christians, and Armenians Christians