The June sham election of Ebrahim Raisi as president of Iran is likely to bring even more political instability to the Middle East partly because the nation’s militant clerics have now moved the country further towards a one-party state.
On Iran’s own official count, voter turnout in a population of 82 million was 48.8 %, a quarter lower than in 2017. “It was a protest vote … against the political system,” says Sanam Vakil, Iran expert at Chatham House, “… frustration that (Iranians) are no longer … considered … important to this process.”
