Iranians woke up this Friday morning to the patriotic songs of the late poet Muhammad Nouri and Salar Aqili, which express love for the homeland and hope for a better tomorrow. The horizons are filled with radio and official television, coinciding with the opening of polls in elections considered by Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei to be decisive in the future and fate of the country.
Since the early morning hours of this day, voters have continued to cast their votes to choose a new president to succeed outgoing President Hassan Rouhani. Read also The most prominent Iranian presidential candidates and their electoral programs Iranian presidential elections.. hypothetical heat and calm in reality After the presidential race ends, will Iran’s external features change?
A message abroad and hope for the next president
Al Jazeera Net went to some polling places in Tehran, the capital, to closely examine the participation rate and how to conduct the elections.
In the Al-Rasoul Mosque in the Saadabad district, north of Tehran, the queue of voters extended for a few meters, and most of those standing were middle-aged.
“Despite all the problems the country is going through, the most important incentive to vote is the security and peace that exists in the country,” says one of these voters, Mr. Mohammadi, who brought his two young children to the polling station.
The tone of the external challenge was clear in Mohammadi’s speech, as he stressed that the high participation in the elections sends a message abroad that the Iranians will not allow any party to interfere in the affairs of their country.
He concluded his statement with hope and a message to the next president that he would place achieving justice at the top of his agenda and at the forefront of his attention.
Hussainiya Ershad .. Media, minorities and queues
In the Irshad Husseiniya, which is one of the most famous polling centers in Tehran and is famous for being a permanent incubator for the political and religious speeches and activities of prominent personalities before and after the revolution, queues of voters were arriving outside the Husseiniyeh, and the presence of foreign media to cover the elections in the Husseiniya was large.
In this important position, the diversity among the voters seemed great, although the motives for participating in the elections remained similar and close among most of them, and the external factor and the fear of its internal effects were present.
Voter Alireza, a 60-year-old taxi driver, says his wife hid his identity so as not to vote, claiming there was no point in voting, but apparently insisted on exercising his right to vote to send a message of Iranian unity in the face of challenges.
He points out that foreigners want people to go out to the streets and chaos reign, and they are waiting for this moment to plunder the country’s wealth.
While Al Jazeera.net toured the Husseiniya Center, a group of senior leaders of Iran’s religious minorities, including Zoroastrians, Christians and Jews, entered it to vote.
The chief rabbi of the Clemeo (Jews) Society of Tehran, Younes Hamami Laleh Zar, said that the presidency is one of the highest positions in the country, and that the presidential elections will certainly affect the fate of all of us, and everyone has the right and duty to elect the fittest.
“Religious minorities are also part of Iranian society, and there are some problems for Iran such as sanctions, economic problems, work and marriage for young people, and I hope that the new president will be able to solve these problems,” Laleh Zar told Al Jazeera Net.
As for the former deputy in the Iranian parliament, Behrouz Nemati, he said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that he believes – despite some differences and problems – that people love their country and will translate this through their participation in the elections.
Nemati explained that the way other countries interact with the new Iranian president depends on the level of people’s participation. If the voter turnout is high, the elected president can certainly implement his plans better, but if his condition is weak, he may not perform well. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.467.0_en.html#goog_577055801
The elderly..the most prominent present in the centers of eastern Tehran
In eastern Tehran, pictures of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi appeared on the streets more than other candidates.
The presence of elderly people leaning on their sticks, or sitting in their wheelchairs, seemed to be noticeable in polling stations in this area, such as the Al-Jawad Mosque in Haft Tir Square and also the Prophet Mosque in Nabout Square in eastern Tehran, and it seems that the participation of the elderly and those who are past middle age In this particular region more than youth participation.
Among the observations recorded by Al Jazeera Net there, boxes and pens are disinfected and sterilized every few minutes, knowing that taking fingerprints is not mandatory in these elections due to the repercussions of the Corona virus crisis.
The methods of urging people to participate in the elections varied, and platforms in front of the polling stations used to play Iranian epic songs through loudspeakers in order to encourage citizens to turn out to the polling stations.
Despite the enthusiasm shown by many to participate, Reda – who was working in a shop near the Prophet’s Mosque – confirmed that he would not vote in these elections, likening the country to a dense forest in need of pruning.
He pointed out that if the tree branches wither and its trunks withered, it is assumed that they will be replaced with new ones (reform in the structure of the system), and the situation of people is like the case of trees, and if those concerned do not pay attention to the roots and needs of the forest trees, the entire forest will be destroyed, and the officials should be aware of this issue, According to him.