Not Voting Is Our Duty

“Come on, at least Rouhani is the lesser of two evils. If you don’t vote, we might end up with someone even worse!”

If you’re Iranian and have objected to voting in the past, this might sound very familiar to you. During previous election cycles, I have lost friendships and been indirectly shamed through social media for refusing to take part in choosing between Khamenei’s preselected roster of evil murderers. Me and my family have never seen the point. Iran is ruled by 6th century theocrats who ruined my entire life, as well as mostly everyone I know. However, despite what should be an obvious reality - that we suffer under a dictatorship barreling towards North Korea-levels of isolationism - millions of Iranians have historically still voted in our fake presidential elections.

I have heard every excuse in the book, and never once have I went along with their logic. In my mind, handing legitimacy to a system set in place by a gang of islamofascists is tantamount to being a traitor. By voting, the regime is handed ammunition to throw at Western powers. “Oh, you think we are a rogue terrorist state? Well, look at the voter turnouts! Are you saying tens of millions of people are terrorist sympathisers?” These are common arguments by the Islamic Republic to justify their proxy wars, genocidal intentions and shiite imperialism.

We, the Iranian people, are guilty of having prolonged the mullahs’ survival for decades through the ballot box. And in the year 2021, those of us who lagged behind are starting to catch up, arriving at a very important realisation.

The last few years have been a rude' wakeup call, causing even the most gullible reformist a severe whiplash over how utterly irredeemable the Iranian regime is. I have witnessed a massive change in attitude in almost everybody. Gone are the days of the Green Movement, where people still believed in a “moderate” future for the Islamic Republic. Gone are the days of thinking the Supreme Leader will magically change his mind, remove gender apartheid, stop hunting down Baha’is like an invasive animal species and massacre protesters in the streets. There is no redemption for Khomeinists. There is no change of heart when it comes to monsters or psychopaths. We are all lambs in a slaughterhouse, and there’s only a matter of time before you and I are next if things continue like this. Call it a revelation, or a redpill, or even a blackpill if you will. Iranians have woken up.

Our struggle for freedom consists of two factions: Iran versus the Islamic Republic. In any free country with real democracy, voting is a national duty. Previous generations fought and died for the freedoms of coming generations. For Iranians, it’s the opposite. We have no freedom, and the revolutionary generation made sure to ruin everything for us. That’s why it is our duty to our homeland and people to not show a shred of goodwill towards the sham elections which have done nothing but humiliate our intelligence and conscience.

It’s incredibly simple. If you are an Iranian, you stay home. Do not vote. Do not even deliver a blank vote, because this will satisfy state propagandist media who are desperate to film long voting queues. Stay at home, cook a fantastic meal, play with your kids, take your spouse for a walk in the park. Read a book, write poetry, play video games or watch TV. Whatever you choose to do that doesn’t involve voting, I will applaud you as a patriot of Iran.

If you know people who are planning to vote, please stop them from doing so. Convince them otherwise. Show them the countless images from the November 2019 massacre, or the PS752 flight the IRGC intentionally blew up, or the grieving mothers of Pouya Bakhtiari, Navid Afkari and too many others. Tell them to think of the victims, and remind them that we all have a rope around our neck in the Islamic Republic.

Be a patriot. Show your love for Iran. Do not vote. Do not let anyone vote.