At Lahijan Prison, in northern Iran, inmates who were on leave were instructed to return to bring their identification cards or national ID cards to vote.

PARIS, FRANCE, July 7, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Foreign Affairs Committee in an article reported that. Iran’s regime is holding its runoff presidential election to choose the successor to Ebrahim Raisi, the former regime president who died in a helicopter crash on May 19. The first round of the election, held on June 28, was met with a historical boycott.

According to estimates and reports by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) network inside Iran, around 88% of eligible voters refrained from casting their ballots. Many of the people who did vote were forced to do so by the regime through threats and incentives. Many of the voters cast invalid votes.

On July 5, as the regime opened the polling stations for the second round of the election, it resorted to desperate tactics to rally its diminishing base to create the impression of a high voter turnout.

Current and former regime officials desperately plead with the people to vote in the second round of the sham presidential elections to give the regime a facade of legitimacy.

Regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei cast his vote early in the second round of the sham presidential elections and begged the people to come out and vote to legitimize his criminal regime. Khamenei said, “I heard that people’s enthusiasm and interest is more than before. I hope to God it is.”
However, Khamenei’s wishful thinking does not match the reports coming from different cities, indicating that polling stations are empty.

Former regime president Mohammad Khatami, who brands himself as a “reformist,” casts his vote in the second round of the sham presidential elections that have been boycotted by the overwhelming majority of Iran’s people.

But the people have been voicing their desire for regime change through slogans such as “Reformists, principlists, the game is over” “It’s not the time for elections, it’s time for a revolution” and “My vote regime change.”

Mahmoud Vaezi, Chief of Staff of former regime president Hassan Rouhani, said, “Hesitants and people who did not vote in the first round of elections, we respect them, we ask them, by voting, you decide the destiny.”

Brigadier General Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces, pleaded with the people to vote in the second round of the regime’s sham elections, saying, “Voting is a simple task, people come and vote, every vote is like a missile for the state.”

This is happening while early reports show that people are refusing to go to the polling stations.

According to reports from Kahnuj prison, in southeast Iran, inmates with open prison sentences were transported to the prison by bus. The day before, they were sent letters and text messages threatening them that they had to come to vote in the first round but did not.

They were warned that if they did not come this round, they would be punished, and their prison terms would be extended. They were told they must vote for the candidate specified by the authorities.

At Lahijan Prison, in northern Iran, inmates who were on leave were instructed to return to the prison with their identification cards or national ID cards to vote.

11:30 AM CET

According to reports received by 10:45 AM, 697 polling stations in 114 cities across 31 provinces have been visited.

More videos coming from inside Iran show empty polling stations as the people refuse to cast their vote for the regime. Meanwhile, the regime is resorting to different tactics to force people to cast their ballots.

People’s Reports:

At Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, regime authorities brought a ballot box to the prison for inmates to vote, but no one voted.
In Mashhad, regime agents went door-to-door on Thursday, begging people to come and vote the next day.

In Babolsar, the so-called Martyrs Foundation, which supposedly serves war veterans and their families, has threatened all its beneficiaries that they must vote, or they will be sent for reevaluation by the medical commission.

In Arak, refinery workers have been threatened with dismissal if they do not vote.

In Anzali, at 10:00 AM, some private companies have asked their employees to gather at the factory at 5:00 PM today to cast their votes in a mobile ballot box, promising a reward of 10 million rials to each.

In Qeshm island, a worker at Pasargad Energy Development Group said that this morning, the company president told the workers at Pasargad Energy Development Qeshm that anyone who votes today will receive an extra day’s wage.

The workers of this company have been on strike for two weeks.

In Karaj, a Basij member inviting people in the bread line at the corner of Khorramdasht to participate in the election was roughed up by two individuals.
In South Pars Company in Asaluyeh, southwest Iran, leaves have been canceled, and workers have been forcibly taken to the ballot boxes. Workers at Sadaf Petrochemical Company have also been threatened with dismissal if they do not vote.

In Tehran, the Ministry of Interior has transferred some branch officials.

In Mahmoudabad, Mazandaran province, a member of the Rudposht village council, who is also a thug, was asking people yesterday to give him their national ID cards to vote for Saeed Jalili.

In Amol, the regime has instructed the civil registry offices to have managers and employees present at the ballot boxes as observers of the Assembly of Experts and, with the national ID numbers of those who participated in the previous round, cast votes on their behalf.

1:30 PM CET

Reports from various polling stations in 140 cities across 31 provinces indicate that by 11:30 AM, the second round of the presidential election show has been met with complete indifference by the people, despite the regime’s extensive measures and propaganda.

The Revolutionary Guards, Basijis, and other repressive organs and institutions affiliated with Khamenei are trying to force people to vote through threats and bribery.

In Saravan, southeast Iran, Baluch activists reported that the IRGC, with the help of local Basij forces, are currently going to the homes of elderly individuals and those under the support of the Khomeini Relief Foundation and the Welfare Organization in various areas of Saravan and its suburbs. They are forcibly and threateningly loading them onto buses and taking them to polling stations.

In Tehran, the number of voters at polling stations such as Nobovat High School, Imam Jafar Sadegh Mosque, Qasem Soleimani High School, Nabi Akram Nar Mak Educational Complex, Komail Nar Mak School, Zahra Elementary School in South Mehrabad, and Amir Kabir School in Resalat Square is very low.

Reports sent from some areas of Tehran to the Ministry of Interior indicate that the number of voters by 11 AM was 30 to 40 percent less than in the first round.

In Tabriz, at the Vali Asr Street polling station, seven people voted; at the Kaboud Mosque polling station, three people; in Kerman, at the Khomeini Highway polling station, nine people; and in Isfahan, at the Sichan neighborhood polling station, nine people voted.

In Sabzevar, at the Herestan Divandari polling station, only a few military personnel were present to vote. In Izeh, at the Atret School polling station, even though they distributed free food, no one came to vote.

In Tehran, at Dey Hospital, patients have been told that to avoid problems, they just need to drop the ballot into the box, but only five Basij members voted.
In Bandar Abbas, since yesterday, regime authorities have contacted the village heads and instructed them that all villagers must come to vote and vote for Jalili.

4:00 PM CET

According to reports received by 1:00 PM Iran time, 1,824 polling stations in 187 cities across 31 provinces have been visited, with some of the reports as follows:

Isfahan – 10:00 – Simay-e Azadi reporter: The number of polling stations has been significantly reduced compared to the first round of the election to avoid showing how empty the stations are. Most of the campaign banners have also been taken down by the regime out of fear of protesters ripping and burning them.

Torbat-e Jam – 11:00 AM – Simay-e Azadi reporter: All polling stations are closed, and everyone is concentrated in the mosque where people come for Friday prayers to create the impression that the crowd is out to vote.

Tehran – 11:00 AM – Jameh Mosque polling station on Afasariyeh Street: Three people have come to vote. A bus brought people to vote, which seems to have been brought from the villages.

Mashhad – 10:00 AM – Simay-e Azadi reporter: I checked various parts of Mashhad several times since 8 am. The security atmosphere is very high. Unmarked patrol cars with cameras on top are patrolling the city. Several plainclothes officers are roaming around in all the polling stations.

Pakdasht, Tehran – 11:00 AM – Ebrahimabad village polling station. No one has come to vote.

Shiraz – 11:00 AM – Simay-e Azadi reporter: The regime has concentrated all its efforts on two polling stations at Shahcheragh and Seyed Alaeddin (Astaneh) to film and promote an impression of high turnout.

Rasht – 11:50 AM – Security measures in the city are very intense. Armed IRGC troops have entered polling station 165.

Khash (Sistan and Baluchestan province) – 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM– No one has come to vote. Armed officers are present throughout the city.
Tabriz – 11:00 AM – Simay-e Azadi reporter: Yesterday afternoon, special anti-riot forces arrived from Tehran.

Koohrang County (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province) – 11:00 AM – In the villages of Aliabad and Fereydoon Abad, supporters of Jalili have taken the ballot boxes and are harassing people.

Tehran – 11:00 AM – Ansar-al-Mahdi Jameh Mosque polling station – The polling station is empty, and there is no noticeable movement. The police and Basij forces are idly standing around while creating a very secure and intimidating atmosphere. The Mahdi Mosque is known for its “No to the Islamic Republic” and election boycott stance.

Tehran: There is no news from Shariati Street from Tajrish to the beginning of Mirdamad. At the intersection of Shariati and Mirdamad, special units are stationed with seven cars and a van for detainees.

Karaj: An observer was expelled from the Mirzaei School polling station in Azimieh and replaced with a Basij member.
Tehran: The regime has brought 14 buses of villagers to Jameh Mosque in Afasariyeh to vote.

Tehran: Two Basij members in Janat Abad have been tasked with ringing people’s doorbells to get them to come and vote.
Gilan – 11:00 AM – Shaft 1 polling station, section 97 – Ten people are present – IRGC forces, Basij, and the Welfare Organization’s committee members, and in general, the regime’s paid affiliates are mobilized, using threats and phone calls to drag people to the polls.

All regime apparatuses, from the governor, directors-general, governors, district governors, village heads, directors of departments, mosque trustees, religious ceremony organizers, city and village councils, and former members of parliament, are active.

Kermanshah province Touh Khoshkeh Jalalvand village – 11:00 AM – Regime authorities brought a mobile polling station, no one came to vote, and they had to pack up and leave.

Former MP and presidential candidate Mohammad Reza Aref said, “The day after the elections, we will enter the phase of camaraderie.”

5:30 PM CET

According to reports from 31 provinces of the country, by 3:00 PM, the polling centers of the regime were still empty, and the regime had failed to bring people to the polls. Media outlets affiliated with the IRGC have begun spreading false news about increased participation compared to the first round to pave the way for widespread fraud.

This afternoon, there were no voters at the polling stations on Helal Ahmar Street, Sa’adat Abad, and Allameh Street in Tehran. At the Imam Hussein Mosque polling station, three people voted; at Khomeini Mosque, two people; at Imam Hassan Mosque, 15 people; at Haj Hossein Elementary School, two people; at Al-Nabi Mosque in Narmak, 10 people.

In the morning hours, at Musa bin Jafar Mosque, two voters were seen; at Ghasemi Technical School, three voters; at Hejab Elementary School, three voters; and at Sa’ei Technical School, eight voters. Some polling stations from Imam Hussein Square to Darvazeh Dowlat have been closed.

In Mashhad, the regime brought Afghan agents to the polling station at Javad Al-Aemeh Mosque. At Imam Hassan Mosque and Roqiyeh Mosque, the number of voters was minimal. At 1:00 PM, there were eight voters at Seyed Mosque in Isfahan and two voters at Navab Safavi Elementary School.

In Shiraz, Sari, Tabriz, Sarab, Kerman, Borazjan, Mahshahr, Yazd, Kish, Semirom, Andimeshk, Sanandaj, Bukan, Oshnavieh, Kermanshah, Urmia, Farsan (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari), Eslamshahr, Ahvaz, and other cities, there were hardly any voters by 3:00 PM.

In Tehran, the regime announced to job seekers that a condition for employment is to participate in the elections. In Shadegan and Abadan, the regime pressured tribal leaders to encourage Arab compatriots to vote. In Shiraz, agents approached the families of prisoners, promising them that if they voted, their children would be released, but the families responded that they would not accept such disgrace.

In Khorramdarreh, the mother of one of the injured from the 2022 uprising was asking people not to vote when Basij forces attacked her. People clashed with the agents in support of this mother. The police arrested her and the people who came to her aid.

In Saravan, regime agents brought ballot boxes to Sediq Akbar Mosque in a minibus to collect votes from the worshippers, but brave young people set the boxes and the minibus on fire, and the minibus had to be removed with a crane.

In Kohrang (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province), supporters of Jalili stole ballot boxes in the villages of Aliabad and Fereydunabad. In Aq Qala (Golestan province), the regime brought Basij women to the polling stations to vote for Jalili.

In some polling stations in Yazd, voters were offered a dish of rice and stew, but no one came to vote. In Qaemshahr, government agents threatened individuals to vote for Jalili.

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https://english.mojahedin.org/news/live-report-irans-sham-runoff-presidential-election-met-with-boycott-again/

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Shahin Gobadi
NCRI
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The day before the election, they sent text messages to the prisoners threatening them that they had to come to vote in the first round but did not.