Enemies may seek to target turnout in Iran presidential election

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran’s enemies may try to prevent a high turnout in the upcoming presidential election in Iran by causing political, economic and security distractions.

The Leader said on Tuesday that one of the schemes of Iran’s enemies is to prevent a mass turnout in the election by distracting people by creating a political, economic or security incident.

The Iranian nation, however, is too prudent to be deceived by the hostile plots of the enemies or their agents, Ayatollah Khamenei added.

“Unlike the past, the arrogant powers explicitly admit that the aim of the sanctions is to tire the Iranian people, provoke them to oppose the Islamic Republic, mount pressure on the Iranian officials and ultimately change the calculations of the officials,” the Leader noted.

“But people in this great land are showing more interest in the principles of Islam, revolution and national Iranian dignity on a daily basis, and that runs exactly counter to the will of the enemies,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader criticized those who try to inculcate into people’s mind that the the forthcoming presidential election in June would not be clean enough, saying such behaviors and words would help arrogant powers achieve their objectives.

“Of course, I personally insist that the election should be held freely and reflect people's votes, while state and non-governmental officials should fully respect the law and exercise piety and integrity in order to hold untainted election, and certainly, that would be so,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

The Leader also took to task those who constantly claim that the election should be free. “It’s clear that the election should be free. Haven’t more than thirty elections held in the past three decades been free? In which country is election freer than in Iran? Watch out for your words not to dissuade people from [taking part in the] election.”
Ayatollah Khamenei recommended prospective presidential candidates to assess their own competence before registering to undergo vetting process by the top oversight body, the Guardian Council.

“Presidential hopefuls should genuinely adhere to the [Islamic] establishment and the Constitution and they should really want to implement the constitution because the president takes an oath to do this and, naturally, he cannot take a false oath,” the Leader stated.


Press TV