Ethnologist Avşar evaluates the Iranian elections

Ethnologist Legend Avşar stated, ‘They prefer Pezeşkiyan as the lesser evil. The reason is the rising self-confidence of the Turks and the expectations that Iran will be divided.’ Avşar evaluated the presidential elections held in Iran 40 days after the death of Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, where the Guardian Council approved 6 candidates for the first round, with no candidate surpassing the 50+1 vote ratio. Reformists’ candidate Mesud Pezeşkiyan received 42.5% of the votes, while the conservative candidate Said Jalili received 38.5% of the votes. The first round, which had the lowest turnout among elections held from the date of the Iranian Islamic Revolution to the present, is crucial for both the system and the candidates, as the second round is of critical importance. Ethnologist Legend Avşar, who pointed out that the presidential elections in Iran are extraordinary, highlighted that for the first time in Iran, a Turk has never been a president. Avşar said, ‘Right after the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979, the first President of Iran was a Turk, Abolhassan Banisadr. The constitution was written during Banisadr’s term. The existence of Turks was denied in the constitution. No minority status was even granted. Although the constitution mentions minorities, it only includes religious and sectarian minorities. Even though Armenians are a minority, they have schools in their own language and perform their religious ceremonies. Despite Turks constituting half of Iran’s 90 million population, they have no schools in their own language. After the revolution, severe penalties were imposed on those who studied in their own language. Speaking Turkish was completely prohibited. People didn’t even dare to speak Turkish. All of these happened during the tenure of the Turkic president.’ Avşar mentioned that Pezeşkiyan receiving 42.5% of the votes in the first round scared Iranian nationalists, stating, ‘They prefer Pezeşkiyan as the lesser evil. The reason is the rising self-confidence of the Turks and the expectations that Iran will be divided.’ Avşar also mentioned that Iranian women support Pezeşkiyan, saying, ‘Women are voting for Pezeşkiyan. Because Pezeşkiyan not only says, ‘I take pride in my Turkishness,’ but also defends women’s rights. He has efforts to change the economy and foreign policy. The Iranian people are tired. They want to end the boycotts. Women want their rights. In the second round, Persian nationalists want the lesser evil. But without any fraud, I think Pezeşkiyan will win.’ Avşar stated that the Iranian people do not want war with Israel, mentioning the possibility of Iran getting involved if Israel wages war on Lebanon, ‘Hezbollah is not strong in Iran. Instead, the Revolutionary Guards are influential. They are tired of this. The Iranian people do not want war with Israel; they are against it. If Pezeşkiyan wins, they might start an external war because they do not want the Turks to become stronger. Hezbollah may attack Iran and receive some support within Iran. However, the Iranian people will not support this war. War can only slightly prolong the life of the Iranian clerical regime.’