What will be the perspective of power after the favorable elections for the Assembly of Experts and the Islamic Council?

In the new political era, which is evidently desired by the Islamic Republic from the standpoint of political and informational power, there is likely a significant difference between not voting and openly expressing that stance, as well as simply abstaining from voting or urging the public not to participate in the elections by influential political, cultural, and social figures.

My interpretation is that the Islamic Republic, despite having created a restrictive atmosphere for political and social activists and widespread disqualifications, needed responses such as sanctions, abstention from elections, or encouragement of others not to participate in the elections to clarify the status of many within the political structure through soft methods.

The manner in which some well-known figures have declared their abstention from voting indicates that they have fallen into the sweet trap of the Islamic Republic, finding themselves with no way forward or backward.

Given the demands of the Islamic Republic and the absence of criminalization for not voting, it is unlikely that the authorities will resort to hard methods or legal action in these circumstances.

Instead, they have plans for the post-election period, which is part of the larger final puzzle of the system, about which I have written numerous times.

In my opinion, despite all the intra-group and sectoral criticisms, as well as media and security-related critiques, prominent and experienced political and social activists did not fall into this trap set by the Islamic Republic. They participated in this election, even with blank or invalid votes, or with their preferred candidates, albeit relative ones, and made it public, with Sheikh Hassan Rouhani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the forefront.

This note of mine will remain as a testament.

Abdollah Abdi