Will Iran see free and fair parliamentary elections?

Reformist party refuses to participate while government cracks down on opposition voices.

Iranians go to the polls this Friday in the first vote since the disputed 2009 elections, which spurred eight months of unrest in the country.

More than 3,000 candidates are contending for 290 seats that will be decided by 48 million voters. But with a battered opposition that is unwilling to participate and an escalating crackdown on voices of dissent, how democratic will these parliamentary elections be?

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Hooman Majd, journalist and author, and blogger Arash Abadpour.

What do you think? Will these elections be free and fair? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream.

View the story "Will Iran see free and fair parliamentary elections?" on StorifyWill Iran see free and fair parliamentary elections?Reformist party refuses to participate while government cracks down on dissent. Storified by The Stream · Thu, Mar 01 2012 12:12:48

Mehdi Khazali is an imprisoned Iranian dissidentwho has been on a hunger strike for over 50 days. Khazali was arrested January9 on unclear charges and recently received a sentence of 14 years in prison, 10years in exile, and flogging. He has called for boycotting the upcomingparliamentary elections on March 2 and said that his hunger strike would continue until his release.Khazali recently wrote a note detailing the"blue sky of pain" experienced by Iranian prisoners. Below is a picturethat allegedly shows Khazali 50 days after he began his hungerstrike.

Pic: Dr. Khazali suffered heart attack on 40 day hunger strike. Hes now day 49, walked to court on cane! #Khazali49roya_sabzIn February, human rights organization AmnestyInternational published a 77-page report detailing the surge in arrests and increasing persecution ofjournalists, activists, students, and various other groups in the period followingthe 2009 Green Movement and leading up to the March 2 parliamentary elections.
On March 2, Iranians will cast their vote inparliamentary elections—the first national poll since the contentious 2009 re-electionof President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that sparked 8 months of unrest. A totalof 3,444 vetted candidates are running for 290 open seats in the parliament. Thisinfographic depict the Islamic Republic of Iran’s labyrinthine political system.
ClusterflockThis New York Times infographic also outlines Iran's political system and emphasizes the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's grip on power.Nytimes

Amnesty International reports that the Iraniangovernment executed twice as many people in 2011 as it did in 2010. Amnesty International believes the increasing number ofexecutions “may be a strategy to spread fear among the population and to deter protests"leading up to the parliamentary elections. The Iran Human Rights DocumentationCenter estimates 67 people have been executed in 2012 sofar, though it is difficult to estimate an exact number.

IranhrdcThe report also states that there were four times as many public executions in 2011 as there were in 2010. Public executions are often carried out by public hanging.BlogSpot

This video by Aaron Chiesa from the VancouverFilm School depicts a young Iranian population (roughly half of its 70 millioncitizens are under the age of 25) eager to use the internet to voice thoughts that might otherwise be considered tabooin public. Iran is the third largest country of bloggers, according to thevideo, with 700,000 blogs in 2005 and 100,000 actively maintained.

Iran: A nation of bloggersAaron ChiesaThe Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Iran jailed 42 journalists in 2011, the highest number in any country. CPJ has also claimed that 10 additional journalists were jailed in January.CPJ Journalists JailedloisnamDubbed as the Green Movement, thousands of Iranians chanted and marched in the streets to protest what they considered to be rigged presidential elections in 2009.15 June 2009 - Tehran - Iran - Protest and strike continued - Mousavi joins the protestsaeidkermanshah

On February 14, 2011, known as “The Day of Rage,” thousands of Iranians began a nationwide series of protests against the government. Thedemonstrations were influenced by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and builtoff of the protests that broke out amid the controversial 2009presidential elections. Two university students were killed as protesters and police clashed in Tehran.

FlickrBlogSpotFlickrFlickrThis video shows protesters in Tehran chanting, "Mubarak, Ben Ali, now Sayyed Ali (Khamenei)! Death to Khamenei!" جمعیت معترض در نزدیکی میدان جمهوری/Protesters chant death to KhameneitheiranreporterProtesters continue to chant "I'll fight, I'll die, I'll take back Iran!"protesters chanting/نوای امیدِ جمعیت در حال شعار و خواندن سرودtheiranreporterThis video shows police trying to control the crowds in Tehran during the February 14, 2011 protests.MUST SEE - Iran 14 Feb Regime Forces attack people!! Tehran 2011freedommessenger20A protester tears down a Khamenei poster during the protests.tearing Khamenei pic/پاره کردن عکس خمینی و خامنه ای برابر بسیجtheiranreporterThis video shows protesters setting fire to the Khamenei poster while shouting for his downfall.Iran New video 14 Feb 2011, khomeini khamenei pic is on fireunity4iranIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is purported to have a Twitter account (@khamenei_ir) where he tweeted his thoughts on the upcomingparliamentary election and the message it will send to foreign powers.Ayatollah #Khamenei: I believe that the Iranian nation will powerfully slap the face of arrogant powers on the election day (Friday).khamenei.irThis video from 1979 asks Iranians how they will vote on the referendum for establishing the Islamic Republic, then considered an undefined form of government that now governs the country. A full translation in English of the responses can be found here.تصورات مردم از ماهيت "جمهوري اسلامي" در رفراندوم سال 58koosha17These satirical sketches lampoon what the cartoonists believe to be Iran's tainted and unfair elections. TheroadtothehorizonToonpoolWorldofweirdthingsBlogSpot

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Will Iran see free and fair parliamentary elections?

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