Iran’s Khatami: 60% Non-Participation Unprecedented, Signaling Majority Anger

Reformist presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian meets former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami after receiving endorsement from the Reformist Front before the first round of voting (Jamaran)
Reformist presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian meets former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami after receiving endorsement from the Reformist Front before the first round of voting (Jamaran)
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Iran’s Khatami: 60% Non-Participation Unprecedented, Signaling Majority Anger

Reformist presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian meets former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami after receiving endorsement from the Reformist Front before the first round of voting (Jamaran)
Reformist presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian meets former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami after receiving endorsement from the Reformist Front before the first round of voting (Jamaran)

Former reformist president Mohammad Khatami called the recent Iranian elections “unprecedented,” noting that over 60% of Iranians abstained from voting, which he said shows widespread anger among the population.

In the upcoming presidential runoff, hardliner Saeed Jalili and reformist Masoud Pezeshkian are vying to mobilize millions of voters on Friday, despite general apathy towards the tightly controlled election.

More than 60% of voters did not participate in the June 28 election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash. This record low turnout is seen by critics as a sign of no confidence in Iran.

Reuters predicts a close race on Friday between Pezeshkian, the only reformist candidate from the first round, and Jalili, a current representative of the Supreme Leader on the National Security Council and a former Revolutionary Guard member.

The candidates are promoting sharply different agendas to attract voters. Jalili advocates strict domestic and foreign policies, while Pezeshkian calls for more social and political freedoms.

Both promise to revive Iran’s struggling economy plagued by mismanagement, corruption, and sanctions since 2018 due to Iran’s nuclear program.

The ruling authorities seek high voter turnout to maintain legitimacy amid Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear advancements and regional tensions like the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Voter turnout in Iran has been declining, hitting a low of 41% in March’s parliamentary elections. In 2021, Raisi was elected with a 49% turnout after disqualifying many experienced candidates.

On his part, Khatami urged leaders to heed voter dissatisfaction, emphasizing voting as a national right and a political statement. He backed Pezeshkian, citing his integrity as a former health minister.

Khatami further urged Iranians to choose between Jalili’s path, seen as undermining rights and exacerbating poverty, and Pezeshkian’s path, which aims to enhance justice and address citizens’ needs.



Slovenia Declares Two Israeli Ministers Persona Non Grata

Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)
Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)
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Slovenia Declares Two Israeli Ministers Persona Non Grata

Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)
Israeli right-wing Knesset members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich attend a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem December 28, 2022. (Reuters)

Slovenia declared two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, persona non grata on Thursday, the first European Union country to do so, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said.

The government accused Israel's national security minister Ben-Gvir and finance minister Smotrich - both West Bank settlers - of making "genocidal statements" and inciting violence against Palestinians.

There was no immediate reaction from Israel's government which has regularly rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, and says it is acting in self-defense following the deadly October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas gunmen.

Fajon said Slovenia had decided to make the move after EU foreign ministers did not agree on joint action against Israel over charges of human rights violations at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.

"Today, the government adopted one of the first national measures, which is to declare two Israeli ministers... unwanted in the Republic of Slovenia," Fajon told a news conference.

"This kind of measure is the first of its kind in the European Union. We are breaking new ground," she said. Other measures were being prepared, she added, without going into detail.

Slovenia's government issued a statement saying the ministers "publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population".

Last year, Slovenia recognized an independent Palestinian state.

In June, Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, imposed sanctions on the two Israeli ministers, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians.

Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023 in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to Israeli tallies, and 251 people were taken to Gaza and held hostage.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.