Historic Iran Parliamentary Elections Highlighted by Cultural, Political, Philosophical Clash Between Hard-Liners, Reformists

Iran’s citizens hit the polling booths today in what is being described by many experts as a critical swing parliamentary election that could very well affect the future of the country. Specifically, Iranian voters will have the opportunity to determine whether the country witnesses what NBC News calls “a reformist comeback,” or if “hard-liners [will] tighten their hold.”

Specifically, Iran’s reform party is regarded as the charging force behind the country’s continued push for alliances with potential new Western allies after what NBC News noted follows “years of isolation and crushing economic sanctions” in addition to “recent plunging oil prices.” Under reformist president Hassan Rouhani, for example, Iran negotiated its nuclear agreement with U.S. president Barack Obama in 2015, in addition to actively promoting other social reform bills in Iran designed to give improved women’s rights.

Iran’s more traditional hard-liner presence, which currently dominates much of Iran’s political scene, meanwhile, is wary of trusting the U.S. and other new potential allies, instead preferring what Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calls an “economy of resistance” that relies on autonomy rather than foreign trade. “One of the tricks the enemy want to play in us is to divide parliament and government,” said Khamenei, according to the Fars News Agency. “The people want a brave and religious parliament who will deliver on its obligations and won’t be intimidated by America.”

Khamenei, also per Fars, once famously elaborated on the differences between Iranian and Western culture.

“The Islamic system has its own set of rules when it comes to governing the society. This particular system cannot apply Western methods to complete its obligations and objectives. Seeing that the Islamic system has unique values, it needs to have a special way of governance too. This method is against the Western way of governance while at the same time rebuffing dictatorships and repression.”

Iran’s Parliament and Assembly of Experts – the body of religious authorities who selected Khamenei for his position – are currently majority-led by such hard-liner traditionalists. In fact, approximately half of the 12,000 potential candidates for one of 290 Parliamentary seats were rejected by The Guardian Council, according to the Fars News Agency.

Large turnout is expected in #IranElections2016 despite disqualification of most Reformists @barbaraslavin1https://t.co/3vwQxnl6CX

— Al-Monitor (@AlMonitor) February 26, 2016

Reformist-leaning students and other young voters, however, seem to see the clash between reformists and hard-liners as a huge fork in the road for Iran, moving forward.

“If hard-liners win the majority of seats in the parliament,” one anonymous student – “Farzad” – told NBC News, “Then we are going to have a continuation of existing problems, where ministers are threatened, [with] rampant inflation and isolation.”

“The most important goal we want as reformists is to have a pragmatic, intelligent and balanced parliament that will stand behind [president] Mr. Rouhani and his programs,” former moderate president Hashemi Rafsanjani’s daughter Faezeh told NBC News. “Not a parliament like the current one that tries to block the government.” Specifically, Faezeh Rafsanjani is backing Mohammad Reza Aref, who served as vice president from 2001-2005 under reformist president Mohammad Khatami. She is consdered by many to be pushing the envelope as Iran’s state government has banned local media from showing any images of Khatami.

The news also comes as, also according to Fars, reports indicate that Iran’s Deputy Interior Minister of Security and Law Enforcement Affairs Hossein Zolfaqari is feeling increased pressure to step up security measures during the country’s elections due to mounting pressure by “anti-revolutionary forces.”

“We have stepped up border surveillance and security ahead of the elections with some great results,” said Zolfaqari, who noted that “The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the Law Enforcement Police, and the Intelligence Ministry have in the past few days managed to arrest several counter-revolutionaries in eastern regions.”

Approximately 53,000 polling locations have been set up throughout the country as citizens step out to vote on Iran’s 290-member Parliament and 88-person Expert’s Assembly. At least 55 million citizens are considered eligible to vote in the Iran elections.

[Image by John Moore/Getty Images]