Masoud Pezeshkian won the second round of the presidential elections in Iran, immediately prompting an outpouring of media acclamation in the West, hailing the new president as a ‘reformist’ and a ‘moderate’. Leading columns in well-known newspapers claimed his election offered “a glimmer of hope” to the Iranian people, particularly women, who could look forward to a relaxation of draconian hijab laws. Their unbridled optimism is misjudged. Dr. Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, was only allowed to stand for the presidency to boost voter turnout, which had fallen to a disastrous 12% in the first round of the elections last month. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei feared that another massive boycott of the polls would undermine the dwindling legitimacy of his autocratic regime. Pezeshkian, 70, was therefore hand-picked to present a ‘moderate’ face to the electorate. Pezeshkian will implement no reforms whatsoever. When asked what his policies would be as president, he replied: “Khamenei sets all plans and policies and straying from them is my redline.”
The ploy to allow a pretend ‘moderate’ to stand for election was a disaster, with turnout even lower than the first round. The Iranian people saw through the deception. Based on reports from at least 2,000 polling stations, which were monitored by representatives of the key democratic opposition movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), from 8am to 12 midnight on polling day, and also information from sources within the regime, only 9% participated in the........