Dubai, United Arab Emirates –

Iran will elect a new parliament on Friday, a vote that will test the popularity of the country’s hardline clerical rulers amid growing public dissatisfaction over economic woes and restrictions on political and social freedoms that will leave many Iranians Stay in the country.

With heavyweight moderates and conservatives staying out of the race, in what reformists called an “unfree and unfair election,” the vote will pit hardliners and low-profile conservatives, both of whom claim loyalty to Iran’s Islam, against each other. revolutionary ideal.

The vote will be the first official measure of public opinion since anti-government protests in 2022-23 turned into the worst political unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called voting a religious duty. He accused the country’s “enemies” – a term he usually uses to describe the United States and Israel – of trying to sow despair among Iranian voters.

But the religious rulers’ hopes of high turnout and increased legitimacy may be dashed as official polls show only about 41% of Iranians will vote on Friday.

“I am seeking regime change and I have decided not to vote because it will only strengthen the Islamic Republic’s control,” said Mehran, a 22-year-old university student in the central city of Isfahan. “I want to live free.”

Zahra, a 26-year-old Tehran housewife, said she would vote because “the world will understand that we support our leader (Khamenei). He said it is our duty to vote.”

The Interior Ministry said 15,200 candidates will run for the 290-seat parliament, which will have little impact on Iran’s foreign policy and nuclear disputes with the West, as these are decided by Khamenei.

Many pro-reform Iranians still have painful memories of the handling of nationwide unrest sparked by the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in custody in 2022, which was later quelled by the state with a violent crackdown through mass detentions and even executions .

Economic hardship presents another challenge. Many analysts say large numbers of Iranians no longer believe Iran’s ruling clergy is capable of solving an economic crisis caused by a combination of U.S. sanctions, mismanagement and corruption.

While establishment supporters are likely to vote for hardline candidates, public anger over deteriorating living standards and widespread corruption is likely to keep many Iranians in the country.

Iranian activists and opposition groups widely circulated the Twitter hashtag #VOTENoVote on social media, arguing that high turnout would legitimize the Islamic Republic.

The parliamentary election coincides with a vote in the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an influential body tasked with choosing a successor to 84-year-old Khamenei.