 |
| Teoman Aktan, political scientist |
Iran’s snap presidential elections will take place on Friday. The candidacy of Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist MP from Tabriz and the founding head of the Turkish Regions Faction in the Iranian Parliament, has made the political atmosphere in Iranian Azerbaijan more dynamic compared to previous elections.
Political scientist and activist Teoman Aktan, in an interview with Voice of America, analyzed the impact of Pezeshkian’s candidacy and the potential consequences of his election—or lack thereof—for the Azerbaijani National Movement.
Teoman Aktan argues that Pezeshkian’s election could bring positive outcomes for the national movement, while his loss should not be seen as a defeat.
Pointing out that the elections are taking place in the shadow of recent large-scale anti-government protests, the political scientist states:
“These elections being held in the aftermath of major protests raises serious questions about voter turnout. Both the government and the opposition have concerns. If voter participation is low, the government sees it as a blow to its legitimacy. At the same time, low participation reduces the chances of an opposition candidate like Pezeshkian winning. In other words, low turnout could be seen as a setback for both the opposition and the government.”
According to Aktan, “Iranian society is facing serious issues: economic difficulties, inflation and high costs of living, unemployment, sanctions, political repression and imprisonments, lack of freedom of expression, censorship, unfair elections, human rights violations, restrictions on women's rights, pressure on ethnic and religious minorities, social and cultural oppression—including the compulsory hijab issue and pressures on the youth—the constant state control over private life, environmental problems leading to migration, and more. People approach the elections negatively because they believe voting will not provide a lasting solution to these problems.”
He believes that “those who support participation in the elections do so with the idea that even small changes can pave the way for greater transformations in a closed system like Iran.”
Teoman Aktan notes that these elections are different for Turks in Iran:
“Pezeshkian’s Turkish identity and reformist stance have made this election significantly different in the eyes of Iranian Turks. Everyone is trying to interpret the situation from their own perspective. Some opposition groups believe Pezeshkian’s candidacy is a government manipulation, while other activists perceive it differently. It is natural for different factions within the opposition to analyze events based on their strategic and ideological positions.”
Drawing attention to the 1997 and 2009 presidential elections, Aktan adds:
“In 1997, when Khatami was elected, and in 2009, during the emergence of the Green Movement led by Mir Hossein Mousavi, people went to the polls hoping to change the course of events or support an alternative administration. Therefore, high voter turnout does not always mean legitimizing the government. Sometimes, it reflects public dissatisfaction with the status quo. That is, society wants to break free from its current conditions, and even if elections bring only small changes, the consequences can be significant. People see such moments as opportunities.”
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Teoman Aktan: Pezeşkianın namizəd olması İranda türklərin bu seçkilərə baxışını fərqləndirib