Gary Metz of Regime Change Iran has the opinions of several Iranian bloggers who seem to express the sentiments of quite a bit of the electorate. Here are the ones he posted below:
The Adventures of Behi —
Tonight, I was talking to Mrs. Behi about the decision we shall make for the election tomorrow; voting or not voting. We have been dubious about this since the start of the election campaigns we have been always having a good will for the reformists but still are not convinced about their capability to keep their promise in getting the non-elected parts of the country under control. This is a dream! We both thought. Then we decided to figure out why we like and why we dislike voting and what will happen if we do not vote as the other option (what will happen) is not very clear.
If I boycott, how shall I defend it? Well, I hate to see the leader to come to his balcony decorated with that ugly blue color and announces proudly “our beloved youth have voted for the Islamic republic and it’s leadership and nailed the United states and enemies of the nations” and his supporters hooray. I cannot let that happen in my name. I may boycott because I no longer care what happens to the Islamic republic.
As I am browsing through the comments posted under “I Will NOT Vote”, it indeed seems that this election, once again, has turned into a referendum. To vote or not to vote, that seems to be the question. The Islamic regime itself has always tried to make it look like this. Voting per se is encouraged, as a sign of support of people for the regime, regardless of who gets elected. That was the slogan eight years ago when Mr. Khatami had that landslide victory over Nategh Nouri, and that still seems to be, even with more intensity, the case today. Overall, based on what I have read, heard, and seen from the candidates and the political commentaries, both inside and outside the country, I can fairly say that the focus of attention has been largely on pseudo-issues.
Driving around Tehran, you’ll see Rafsanjani ‘supporters’ are everywhere. But don’t make a mistake.
Many of these young boys and girls on the streets are not going to vote Rafsanjani. He is just an excuse for them to gather and have fun. The same way they gather during religious Shia festivals for Imam Hossein. They look like they are genuinely interested in what they do, but if you start talking to them, you’d see they are probably checking out hot girls and boys behind you.
Along the same lines, polls are usually not reliable when it comes to Rafsanjani. Best example was sixth parliamentary elections in which he was at worst among the top five, but ended up in 30th place.
I believe one third of survey respondents lie about who they are going to vote for. Rafsanjani’s name is enough to scare many ordinary Iranians. They think they’d be in trouble if their answers are not what they guess the interviewee wants. They are such smart actors in this game.
And don’t forget to miss the Thursday briefing.
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