The Iranian regime is yet again organizing a farcical election of its President for the 28 of June, following the death of the incumbent, known as the ‘butcher of Tehran’ for his role in mass assassinations of political opponents.
There are no democratic elections in Iran, as the people are only allowed to vote on candidates pre-selected by the clergy elders as demanded by the spiritual leader, the de facto ruler of the country.
Iranians ignore ever more the regime’s periodic charades, the last time in the March parliamentary elections, where the turnout was the lowest registered in the 45-year history of the regime.
Still, the regime’s elections are always an opportunity for Iranians to show their discontent, and within the country, Iran’s organized Resistance movement, the pro-democracy main opposition, the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran ( PMOI/MEK) is already calling for boycott, as a way of "voting for regime change."
The Iranian expatriate community is also organizing its answer to the regime’s 28 of June election by gathering the next day in Berlin in support of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) designation of Maryam Rajavi as the transitional president, showing that there is an alternative, ready to organize the country’s democratic elections following the mullahs' overthrow.
Ms. Rajavi 10-point plan for Iran's democratic future, includes free and fair elections, the separation of religion from the state, legal safeguards for the rights of women and minorities/
It's it is a program for a democratic revolution that aims at empowering the Iranian people and proscribing the present clerical dictatorship as well as the past dictatorship of the Shah.
The people of Iran have repeatedly shown their will to overthrow dictators, the last time during 2022 in reaction to the regime’s assassination of a young woman.
It's necessary now more than ever for every democrat to show their solidarity with the Iranian people’s plight.
In recent weeks, majorities in both the British and Italian parliaments issued statements once again formalizing that endorsement and urging their own governments to adopt policies that center the Iranian people and provide support for their ongoing efforts to establish a democratic republic in place of the theocratic dictatorship.
The Berlin rally will no doubt provide those governments with specific recommendations for what they can do to provide this support, while also illustrating that the long-deferred dream of regime change is well within reach.
Unfortunately, for nearly 45 years, most of the western leaders have been slow to recognize the viability of this alternative, hindering them from confronting the clerical regime, despite its well-documented human rights abuses and status as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
The Berlin rally will be a call for them to follow the example of British and Italian parliamentarians.
The death of the "Butcher of Tehran" deepens a political crisis the mullahs had already been struggling with. And it will deepen even further with an organized boycott of the election to choose his successor.
The Iranian people have made it clear that they are ready to sweep the mullah out of the Iranian political stage.
They do not need much in the way of Western support in order to do so, but the European Union, its member states, and their allies must be willing to implement a new policy based on firmness and siding with the Iranian people and their desire for democracy.
Paulo Casaca - Is a former member of the European Parliament, he is from Portugal.
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