Leader calls for massive turnout in polls
“God willing, the people will participate in the elections with strong determination and full motivation… and will prove to the world Iranians' glory in another revolutionary challenge,” Ayatollah Khamenei told a gathering of people in Tehran on Wednesday.
Iranians are going to the polls on Friday to elect members of the Assembly of Experts, the body that appoints and supervises the supreme leader. Voters will also choose members of municipal councils, and in some constituencies there will be parliamentary bi-elections to fill empty Majlis seats.
“The Assembly of Experts poll is one of the most important elections in the country,” the Leader said, calling on people to vote for honest, trustworthy, competent, and conscientious candidates. The active presence of a nation on the stage of elections shows the vitality and vigilance of that nation, he added. “In elections, the will of the majority of the people is realized.” He said the enemies of the Iranian people are trying to discourage them from going to the polls and pointed out, “Those who claim to be the advocates of democracy are trying to weaken (Iran’s) religious-democratic bodies by encouraging a low turnout, but the Iranian nation will disappoint them again.”
“Today, the people are the country’s real decision-makers, and this guarantees Iran’s future,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also said that Iran would make more progress in its nuclear program despite the objections of the major powers.
“In the nuclear energy issue, international powers insisted that Iran should not develop this advanced technology, but Iranians unanimously insisted on obtaining this right and as a result reached a very advanced level.
“Of course, this is not the end of the road, and the Iranian nation will make more progress in this regard,” he noted.
Strengthening “national unity and determination” is the secret to success, he said in conclusion.