Amini mother describes Iranian election as ‘pointless’ with millions set to boycott vote

The mother of Mahsa Amini, whose death sparked mass protests in Iran, has described the country’s election as pointless, undermining the regime’s official push for people to vote.

The night before polls opened on Friday, Mozhgan Eftekhari took to Instagram to share pictures of her daughter, who died in 2022 while in police custody for allegedly “improperly” wearing her hijab.

Above the pictures she wrote: “If voting would change something, they would not allow you to vote.”

Millions of Iranians are expected to show their discontent with the Islamic regime by boycotting the election, which is the first since mass protests broke out following Amini’s death.

Iranian officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, have urged the public to vote. Since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s theocracy has based its legitimacy in part on turnout in elections.

Khamenei made a show of casting the first vote, with images of him stuffing a plastic ballot box broadcast on state television. He appealed for people to follow suit, saying “onlookers from all over observe the affairs of our country; make (Iran’s) friends happy and ill-wishers disappointed”.

Many Iranians, fed up with the regime, said they are boycotting the election. Amir, a university student, said: “We all know there is no democracy in Iran; there is no fair election;

‘This regime is not legitimate and we are sending a message to say that we don’t want you’ they killed so many people last year. “This regime is not legitimate any more, and by boycotting the election, we are sending a message – that we don’t want you any more.”

Videos circulating on Friday showed empty polling stations, which will be open until 6pm; initial results are expected as early as Saturday.

One person appeared to echo Ms Eftekhari’s post. Mahvash, 45, said: “If voting could change anything, they wouldn’t let us vote. We are dealing with a dictatorship, not a democratic government.

“To pay tribute to the blood of our children, and watch the last breaths of this brutal system, this Friday, we will stay home.”

Elham, 24, added: “There is no sense in voting when you don’t want the system in the first place.”

Voter turnout is widely expected to be far lower than the 42.5 per cent participating in the last parliamentary election, four years ago. That figure was the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Various internal surveys estimate that turnout in Tehran, the capital, will be as low as 15-17 per cent.

A graduate student in Tehran, who declined to give a name given the risk of reprisal when speaking out against the government, said: “Nowadays, people are showing social disobedience in every corner of this country.

“People are tired and they want this regime gone. They come to the streets [to] protest; they don’t want to vote; they don’t want to follow the rules - all these are signs that people are desperate for a change.”