The most prominent of which are nationality and the language of education. This is what Iranian nationalities want from the elections

Improving the living situation is a common concern for the majority of Iranian segments (European News Agency)

Tehran -

The Iranian authorities concerned with the elections are singing these days that the ballot boxes are the best way to meet the aspirations of the people and follow up on their demands in the next parliament, especially since Persia is characterized by cultural and social diversity in the mosaic of sects and nationalities spread throughout it.

As the elections approach on March 1st, Al Jazeera Net surveyed the opinions of a number of Iranian activists about what they expect from them, and monitored what members of Iranian nationalities hope for from the next parliament, such as Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Lurs, and Baluchis.

While economic demands emerged in the opinions of the participants, especially improving the living situation, addressing unemployment, achieving justice, and strengthening the educational system, as they are the common concern of the majority of Iranian segments, the aspirations of the nationalities varied from one region to another, between demanding basic and civil rights to demanding the full implementation of the constitution.

Malazhi called for the issuance of a national identity card for Iranian citizens in Sistan and Baluchestan Province (social networking sites)

Baloch...basic demands

Baluchi activist Pir Muhammad Malazhi began his speech by calling on his country’s next parliament to work on registering unregistered citizens among Iranians, and issuing national IDs to hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens residing in Sistan and Baluchestan province, stressing that this province is still bleeding and claiming casualties on a daily basis due to the lack of modernization and paving. Transportation methods.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Malazhi believes that “the eastern border has turned into a threat to the people of the governorate, and we demand that security be restored and that the unruly gangs that have always shed the blood of innocents be fought,” expressing his concern about the spread of illiteracy and students leaving the classroom after completing the primary stage, due to the educational system’s inability to Providing study requirements in the subsequent stages.

He explained that "unemployment forces a segment of young people to smuggle fuel, which exposes them to the bullets of the security forces, which we believe have the right to fight the phenomenon, but at the same time the citizen has the right to demand the provision of job opportunities," adding that "the region's problems have been intertwined and magnified over the past decades." "It may be difficult to solve in the near term."

Ahwazi activist Mehdi Fakher demands the strict implementation of the Iranian constitution in Khuzestan Province (social networking sites)

Arabs...legal demands

If the electoral entitlement reminds a segment of the population of Sistan and Baluchestan Province of their lost Iranian nationality, and the extent of the intertwined problems there, then Arab nationalism sees in the legislative elections “the only outlet to achieve what the citizen aspires to, and to demand that his representatives in Parliament work to achieve his requirements,” according to the Ahwazi activist Mahdi. deluxe.

In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, Fakher recalls the growing frustration and disappointment among Arab voters in Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran, stressing that “the voter is faced with the challenge of choosing the most suitable and competent candidate to pursue his rights guaranteed by national law, most notably education in the mother tongue, in accordance with Article 15 of the Iranian Constitution.” ".

He points out that “if 10 representatives had gathered, they would have been able to change a minister, or leave a prominent mark on the enactment of laws,” demanding that the articles of the Iranian Constitution be fully implemented in Khuzestan Province, “including allocating a percentage of oil sales for the reconstruction of the province, and reducing environmental pollution resulting from oil extraction and refining.” Considering the local population as the first to enjoy the resources and wealth of their lands, and employing them in local projects.”

The aspirations of the people vary according to the diversity of nationalities on the eve of the 12th parliamentary elections and the diversity of (European) groups.

Al-Lor...civil demands

With the diversity of nationalities and cultures from one governorate to another, the aspirations of the people also diversified - on the eve of the 12th parliamentary elections - but what is striking is that the demands of Lurian nationalism were the common denominator with all the demands of other nationalities.

Activist Hossein Ali Mirzapour explained, “There are no national demands in the provinces inhabited by the Lors, because the Lors are the beating heart of the Iranian body with all its components, and the demands of these provinces may not go beyond providing job opportunities, improving the living situation, and launching economic and development projects.”

Mirza Pour said in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, "The majority of the residents of Lorestan, Chahar Mahal, and Bakhtiari provinces, especially villages and small cities, practice agriculture and livestock raising, and do not care much about politics," adding that "kinship ties and lineage override other justifications for voting."

Dr. Salah al-Din Khedive believes that Kurdish activists will not interact with the upcoming elections (social networking sites)

The Kurds... renewed pain

Not far from Lorestan, where electoral campaigns are continuing their activity, it seems that the coldness of the ongoing frost wave has been reflected in the electoral scene in the Kurdistan Governorate, west of the country, as Kurdish activist Salah al-Din Khedive says that the official calls to participate extensively in the upcoming electoral entitlement “renew the pain of the Kurds due to their loss of the young woman, Mahsa.” Amini (22 years old) while in the custody of the morality police, mid-September 2022 and the events that followed.”

In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, Khedive was surprised by the reliance on the promises of the parliamentary election candidates, in light of the failure to fulfill the promises made by the successive presidents of the republic during their propaganda campaigns, stressing that the Kurdish activists did not interact with the upcoming elections, and perhaps one of the reasons is due to the Guardian Council’s rejection of the eligibility of their candidates, which makes Coldness is the master of the electoral scene in the large Kurdish cities.

He concluded that, unlike major cities, small Kurdish cities demand that election candidates implement reconstruction and development projects, such as modernizing roads, connecting cities to the natural gas distribution network, and developing the public health network, most notably equipping local hospitals.

Turks...environmental demands

As for Hamid Qudsi Azar, an Azerbaijani activist in the city of Tabriz, located in the northwest of the country, he said that he never hesitates to place “the drying up of Lake Urmia” at the top of the list of Turkish nationalist aspirations for the next Iranian parliament, calling on the representatives of the current parliament and the candidates for the upcoming elections not to miss the opportunity to save the lake, and to hand over Her water ration is complete.

In his interview with Al Jazeera Net, he referred to the major national projects to desalinate the water of the Oman Sea and transfer it to the central governorates, and added that "the residents of the Azerbaijani governorates feel the inaction of the ruling authorities regarding the drought crisis of Lake Urmia, if they were not intentionally forcing them to migrate to the region," as he put it.

He continued, "50% of the copper in Iran is extracted from the Songun mines, near the poor city of Warzagan, and is transported to the copper factories in the city of Kerman in the south of the country," adding that "Azerbaijani nationalism demands the establishment of copper factories in its region to eliminate unemployment, and for the bounties of its lands to be returned to it." “In addition to its constant demands to end the security outlook on this region.”

Apathy prevails over the election campaigns in Iran (Al Jazeera)

Other categories

In addition to the Iranian nationalities, other societal groups have demands and concerns that may be no less important than the above, but they vary from one segment to another. Teachers are demanding that wages be raised, and stock market traders are demanding that they be removed from the stock market, so that they rise in proportion to inflation at the very least, if There was no hope for its general index to rise.

The ISNA news agency published a report on the aspirations of the two segments of employees and retirees from the next parliament, stressing that ensuring national interests and legislating appropriate laws override the aspirations of the two segments, and quoted citizen Ali Ahmed as demanding that the candidates “not make promises that are no longer within their authority, but rather the government is in charge.” Executive projects.

Source: Al Jazeera