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Why I'll Vote This Time

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By Golnaz Esfandiari

June 12, 2009

On Friday, I will vote for the first time in my life.

I will cast my ballot at the Iranian Embassy in Prague, where I live and work as a journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. I wish I could go back to Iran to vote, but I won't risk being detained or harassed as many of my colleagues have been for the "crime" of disseminating information that Iranians cannot get from the country's strictly controlled media.

Why will I vote? After all, Iran is not a democracy. Won't voting serve to legitimize a regime characterized by human rights violations? A regime often in the news for jailing women and young people who seek to exercise their universal rights. A regime that is the only one in the world that executes juvenile offenders. A regime that forced me to wear the Islamic hijab when I was only a child and whose intolerance and injustice compelled me to leave my homeland.

I used such arguments to explain why I never voted before. I know the regime has not changed, but this time I will vote. Why? I've changed.

See RFE/RL's full election coverage

Four years ago, many Iranians boycotted the presidential election for all these reasons and more. But did that make Iran more democratic? Did it improve things? No, the situation in the country only got worse. Iran is a country with limited choice, but with choice nonetheless and not voting only paves the way for extremists to expand and solidify their power. This is exactly what we have witnessed in Iran over the past four years.

Personal freedoms have been eroded and the human rights situation has grown significantly worse. Poverty is on the rise and Iran is more isolated than ever before.

But hope has not died. I am excited about this election, and I have caught that excitement from the people with whom I have spoken in Iran, people who are energized by the hope of a new beginning under more moderate leadership.

Don't get me wrong – I'm not being unrealistic. I know Iran will not become a democratic state anytime soon. I also know that I won't be able to return to the land where I was born soon either. I know Iran is governed from the top down and that the next president – no matter who he is – will be under the thumb of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But change can come to Iran, slow changes that one day will produce a democracy. I am choosing hope over inaction and despair. So, I will vote.

This piece first appeared on CNN's AC360 blog. Golnaz Esfandiari is an RFE/RL senior correspondent and editor of "Persian Letters," a blog that offers a window onto Iranian life by translating and showcasing the works of Persian-language bloggers

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Comments

by: Timo Haapanen from: Finland

June 12, 2009 14:12

It is exactly this kind of a brave young person with 21st century thinking like the author that Iran would need to become their next president, but really a lot should change before it could be possible; I hope this article will make those readers vote who are still hesitating.

by: Jerry

June 12, 2009 21:36

Very moving. But will this vote really bring change?

by: Amuzegar from: UK

June 13, 2009 05:21

This is a load of codswallop. Your argument works against you to a large extent. You claim to be realistic and aware of many abominable acts often committed by the Islamofacist regime of Iran and yet you are going to vote for one of the candidates who fully supports the governing principals of the same regime. You are going to vote, because four years ago “many Iranians boycotted the presidential election” that led to the victory of Ahmadinejad and the consolidation of extremists’ power. You are mixing oranges with apples !
The reformists, according to a reliable study carried out in Iran, lost the last presidential election four years ago because Mohammad Khatami due to a host of reasons, miserably failed to fulfil most of his promises to the people of Iran. The reformists failed four years ago because, they could not reassert themselves and gain the people’s trust.
Voting for one of the candidates that fully endorses every governing principals of the regime, including the Governance of Jurisconsult (velayat-e faqih), is not choosing “hope over inaction”. It is being naïve; it is bad judgment and inattention to what is going on in Iran; it is tantamount to endorsing the Islamofacist regime that has brought so much misery to the people of Iran and beyond in the name of Islam.
You are entitled to vote for one of the candidates that have been chosen for you, but your vote would not make any difference. Musavi, Karrubi and Ahmadinejad differ from one another in terms of restricted approaches on how to tackle domestic issues and not in terms of strategy. And, when it comes to foreign policy, the so-called supreme leader is the ultimate decision-maker and the president has very little leeway. Those who think that this election is going to bring noticeable changes in Iran, cannot see the wood for the trees.

by: Hengameh from: US

June 14, 2009 15:20

I voted for the first time like you did. I had tears in my eyes when I read your comment. Now I feel cheated. Where is my vote?