Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi says the Islamic Republic government is trying to turn the upcoming parliamentary elections into a repeat of the fraudulent 2009 election.
Karroubi has been under house arrest since last February for challenging the results of the 2009 presidential elections, which led to mass demonstrations that were violently crushed by the government.
Saham News reports that in a telephone conversation with his wife, Fatemeh Karroubi, the opposition leader said the head of the Guardian Council, Ahmad Jannati, and Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi are aware of the “people’s dissatisfaction and want to stage a sham election process.”
Karroubi, who according to his wife is allowed two daily newspapers and access to the state TV channel, told his wife it is clear that the government is preparing for another fraudulent election.
He notes that officials have already followed the judiciary’s order to establish the headquarters to stop election violations, and that they are demanding that reformist candidates denounce him and MirHosein Mousavi, the reformist candidates in the 2009 election, before they can run in the coming elections.
Iranian reformist organizations and figures have already announced that they are boycotting the elections because the government has refused to release political prisoners and guarantee a transparent election process.
