BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iranian media is intensely covering its elections.

Iran’s elections are widely seen as so controlled by the far-right Ayatollah-led regime that the people do not have a real choice with their vote and that Ebrahim Raisi will win. The judiciary head is called a “principlist” by supporters, as opposed to a “reformer.” For most western media, that means he is a hardliner.  
Polls opened in the morning to some 60 million eligible voters. Press TV noted that “polls opened across the country at 07:00 am local time on Friday, June 18, and will run until 05:00 pm. Voting can be extended until 12:00 am on Saturday, and for two more hours then, if necessary.”

Several candidates dropped out before ballot boxes opened and many popular figures were banned from running. Elections contesters included Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, Abdolnasser Hemmeti and Mohsen Rezaei. Hemmeti is an academic and economist. Rezaei is a key figure and former IRGC head.  

Iranian media is excited about the elections. Tasnim News has asked whether the polling stations should be kept open until 2am. This is because pro-government media want to increase the turnout. Low turnout has harmed Iran in recent years by making it seem like civilians don't care about elections and don’t trust the regime. Iranians who have previously protested the regime have been executed in recent years. Over the last decade and a half there have also been several mass protests in Iran.

Tasnim media called the elections “glorious” and critiqued the West. It claimed there was a new “wave” of support for the elections and that “counter-revolutionaries” tried to reduce turnout. However, it does appear that there have been boycotts of the elections in the Kurdish region. Tasnim reported that “Sunnis” turned out to vote in some other areas. The pro-government media reports that there have not been many election violations.

At Fars News, the pro-government channel, some people claim there are a lack of voting booths in some parts. Of the country and the channel critiqued the fact that mobile medical voting boxes were not provided to hospitals. There was an interruption of voting in Yasuj in the southwest, one report noted.

Some social media users tweeted photos of what they said were Jewish and Zaroastrian voters in Iran. The photos appeared to show Christian priests also at a poll.  

Critics say the elections are a sham and that the far-right is being entrenched in power. If in 2009 there was hope for reform when Mir-Hossein Mousavi ran, today there appears to be less hope. Mousavi, whose supporters rallied when he lost and claimed there was fraud, used the cover green in his campaign and has been under house arrest for years. It appears that any real attempt to change the system in Iran ends in house arrest or execution.