🇮🇷Can a presidential election reshape Iran? | The Stream

Candidates for Iran’s next president are vying for approval in the final two weeks of campaigning, but public discontent over the final list of nominees and widespread apathy among potential voters suggests election day will be a muted affair.

Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative and Iran’s chief justice, is favourite to win the June 18 election among seven candidates approved by Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council, which reports to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Four other approved candidates are conservatives. Only two approved nominees hold reformist or moderate leanings, and neither have a particularly large public following.

Millions of Iranians are living in poverty amid high inflation, currency devaluation and double-digit unemployment, driven by US sanctions that were re-imposed soon after then-US President Donald Trump walked away from a landmark international nuclear deal with Iran. But as Iran indirectly negotiates with the administration of US President Joe Biden to resurrect the accord and have Washington drop the sanctions, many people in Iran appear to consider the election a foregone conclusion in Raisi’s favour. A poll that was conducted after the announcement of the final list of presidential candidates predicted a low turnout. And a coalition of activists, including political prisoners, has for weeks called for people to boycott the election.

In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at the issues uppermost in the minds of Iranians and the mood in Iran as election day nears.

Join the conversation:

#aljazeeraenglish
#ajstream
#iran

[aljazeeraenglish]

Thanks for watching everyone. Tell us what you think of the election in the comments below.

[viveliran]

In Qatar you can find milk of dragon but you can't find veto box

[mistergeopolitics]

Does Qatar even hold elections ? Saudi ? Nope. In the US, most elections see a 20% turnout.

[Komonsense]

It never ceases to amaze me that seemingly articulate individuals for genuine reasons known only to themselves debate, opine, comment or discuss the topic of Iranian Governance without bursting out into laughter at the preposterous nature of the task. The country has been run into the ground by the only ruling party within the framework of a non sanctified constitution created in the aftermath of a bloody revolution. One might as well vote for a squirrel rather than any of these misfits all spawned from the same and only party which has consistently failed to defend the interests of Iran and its people. Since Mr Squirrel is far more qualified for the task of being the Iranian President and since he is not occupying one of the seven seats the only viable course of action is abstaining from voting

[SamtheIrishexan]

As long as Iran has a Supreme leader the Iranians will suffer tyrrany. Its a shame they should be the most proud Arab country based on history. The Persians can return

[mistergeopolitics]

In most western countries you have an average of 20% turnout. In Iran even a 36% turnout is much higher than western elections.

[maniveiszadeh]

A report from a TV station owned by a country that has no idea what a ballot box even looks like.

[alectravis]

You should make news about the fact we all live in the same planet and in fact it's a big kindergarten full of kids trying to act adult ahaha

[SepSyn]

This stream has an overall very amateurish feel. It does not feel well produced

One major issue is that this also reads like propaganda. There is little input from ordinary Iranians and all of it is negative towards the election. Many of the points are well made, but it is jarring to hear over 20 minutes of one sided discussion

Your Tehran analyst is wooden in their delivery and feels like they are reading off a teleprompter, they do not feel like a journalist. Your host is not much better, and at one point looks away for a line. Not a captivating cast, and the production is hideously scuffed for such a large network

Your other two guests were both informative and made many salient points, your Washington based guest especially. If you had one or two individuals who were on the side of the current administration or at least more sympathetic to it who could make additional arguments the conversation would not look like Qatari propaganda

I have no doubt things are not the best that they could be in Iran, but this story is one that anyone with an eye for objectivity will be looking to avoid. This is bad journalism, if it is journalism at all

[kingKong-fdwm]

Negatively that's all I'm hearing bias panel

[kenfu]

iran should vote for an pro iranian not an pro american hope the usa not meddling in irans election

[pouyabahrami]

SORAYA has crockodile tear for "democracy" but she attacks conservatives to oppose the Iranian President and their participation in the process in that country. She expected the "conservatives" were supposed to present no opposition in the past 8 years. That's her idea of democray. These are the people who are in the debate.

[pouyabahrami]

You have to wonder about a debate where the side they are talking about is not even invited to the debate.

[michaellapalme]

I’ll always have hope for Iran.


Or as it should be known... Persia.

[anmolraj]

Before Iran was called Persia now it's Iran know the reality...

[sheelapun]

A very good morning 🌞
Very nice session 👍🏻

[khalidbhutto]

Guardian council is in fact Islamic Ideological council envisaged in the islamic Republic Despite all propagandas Raisi will emerge victorious

[liveCha]

Such a superficial discussion, couldn’t watch more than 13 minutes!!!
Sounds like a discussion from mullahs tv! A shame for AJ!

[susanhall]

The US is bad too. We don’t even allow any of the candidates from any but 2 parties in the big debates. Green Party candidate even ended up forcefully held by law.

[pouyabahrami]

The whole point of this show is to encourage people NOT to vote.