Many autocratic regimes refer to their leaders as "president."
It's best not to believe countries engaging in such a charade.
Sure, these regimes may hold elections, people may actually cast votes, but the elections themselves are beyond being a farce.
They are an absolute sham.
When any regime claims that an autocratic leader garnered 90% or more of the popular vote, alarms should start sounding.
They are not democracies.
A runoff electionwas recently held in Iran.
In this election, the "reform" candidate won.
Don't be fooled.
That election, like all others in Iran, was a counterfeit election.
Sure, average Iranians voted in the primary and in the runoff.
And when it was over and the "votes" were tallied, Iranian leadership publicly proclaimed to the world that, in this primary, voter turnout was the lowest ever in Iranian history. The lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
There is a Iranian parliament — a parliament where a Jew has a designated seat.
But Iran is hardly a democracy.
Victory was handedto Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, the “reform” candidate. His contender, Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator often referred to as a hardliner, is, in truth, simply a status quo candidate.
Dr. Pezeshkian, the new president of Iran is clean shaven.
He dresses in modern apparel.
He ran on a platform against the morality police, promising unity and in favor of ending global isolation.
That is where charade meets intrigue.
Iran is a feigned democracy. Iran’s simulated democracy confronts the Iranian system of government.
The supreme leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei, accompanied by his associates, determine who is eligible to run in any and every Iranian election.
Many people apply to be candidates, but very few survive the vetting process.
Most of the candidates who do make the cut are carbon copies of each other and of previous leaders — copies in both appearance and political philosophy.
If these presidents are not perfect copies, then once in power, they become rubber stamp rulers.
The president must follow — in action and in tone — the message of the supreme leader because in Iran it is the supreme leader and only the supreme leader who is in charge.
The religious leader rules over everything within the Islamic Republic.
Everything.
If they are truly skilled, presidents may be able to convince the grand ayatollah to experiment and tinker on a few matters, but those occasions are rare.
The sole power in Iran, the ultimate power, rests with the supreme leader.
Of course, it does.
The title says it all.
It's almost comic book-like in its absolutism.
How a man who is clean shaven, Western dressed, scientifically educated and a cardio-thoracic surgeon made the list of candidates for the Iranian presidency is a mystery.
How he won is a bigger mystery.
Or maybe . . . it isn't.
It can be said with absolute certainty, there will be no change on the horizon for Iran.
- Do not be duped, as are many in the Western world, by the nature of the Iran’s political system.
- Do not be duped by the language or the terms that are used.
Descriptors like "president," polls," "voting" are mere window dressing, employed to cover a the most non-democratic and authoritarian of societies.
The political prowess of Iranian leadership is brilliant.
And even though Iran is the quintessential non-democratic authoritarian society, they effortlessly fool even countries assumed to be politically savvy.
Countries like the United States.
During this recent election for the president of Iran, the United States was host to 33 Iranian polling stations.
Yes, 33 polling stations at which Iranian citizens cast ballots, and at various locations within the United States, for the president of Iran!
The voting stations were in hotels.
The locations were only made public at the last minute.
Because Pakistan represents Iran’s interests in the United States, the ballots were delivered to the diplomatic representative of Pakistan, and then sent off to Iran.
- It was all above board.
- It was all illegal.
And yet, it's not unreasonable to wonder what possessed the U.S. to permit Iran to conduct an election, on American soil, for their presidency.
The official response given by the U.S. State Department is chilling.
The response?
Principal U.S. Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said, "In this context foreign governments carrying out election-related activities in the U.S., they need to do so in a manner that is consistent with U.S. law and regulation.
"We respect the rights of Iranian citizens and the diaspora protesting Iran’s elections or choosing to participate in Iran’s elections.
"And I will also just note that the Iranians have conducted this kind of activity in the United States before, so this is nothing new, and as have a number of other governments, especially in the time that I have worked here as well."
Let's never forget:
Iran is a country at war with the United States.
Iran is bent on the destruction of the United States and of Israel.
And yet, the U.S. permitted Iranians to vote in 33 polling stations across 20 different cities and states.
The real reason the United States permitted this to happen is simple to explain but painful to reveal. The U.S. lives in its own world.
An encapsulated sphere of blissful ignorance and blind naivete. Dangerously so.
There can be no other explanation.
Micah Halpern is a political and foreign affairs commentator. He founded "The Micah Report" and hosts "Thinking Out Loud with Micah Halpern," a weekly TV program, and "My Chopp," a daily radio spot. Follow him on Twitter @MicahHalpern. Read Micah Halpern's Reports — More Here.
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