ELECTIONS in Iran have been described as “clerical theatrics” that amount to nothing more than a “kabuki dance”.
The damning assessment was levelled by Iran’s exiled Crown Prince, His Imperial Highness Reza Pahlavi.
Prince Reza has outlined his proposals for a whole new system of government for Iran.
Under the current system powers of the elected president are circumscribed by those of conservative Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been in power since 1989, and all candidates must be vetted by a hardline body.
“The clerical theatrics (in Iran) called ‘elections’ are no more than a kabuki dance, where the same theatre actor dons different masks, sings a different tune so that a marginally different narrative can be told before the change of each curtain,” said Prince Reza, who branded the politics of Tehran’s clerics as “visionless chaos”.
He is now advocating change through a campaign of non-violent, civil disobedience designed to bring down the religious regime that previously deposed his father, the Shah, in 1979.
“It is only after the regime is toppled that an environment of open political discourse, free media and free party systems can guarantee the conduct of free and fair elections,” he said.
“People will then need to freely choose their representatives, through which a constitutional assembly can debate and draft a new constitution forming the basis of a secular parliamentary democracy.
“Thereafter, a national referendum would confirm and adopt such a constitution, a popular vote would determine the final form of the new political system: a choice between a secular parliamentary monarchy or secular parliamentary republic.
“The final phase will be the election of the first parliament, as well as general election for the formation of the first democratic government.
“This is what the future can hold for the Iranian people, at least in terms of how I visualise the most inclusive participatory process for a progressive, tolerant Iran.”
Under his father’s secular and pro-Western rule, Iran experienced a rapid modernisation programme financed by oil revenues.
The hardline government that followed has long been criticised for its destabilising policies and persecution of minorities, among other things, but Prince Reza vowed all Iranians would be treated equally, regardless of sect or ethnicity, under his proposed constitutional model “of tolerance and coexistence”.
“As far as I am concerned, we are all Iranians and as such we are all equal,” he said.
“I expect that our future constitution will be based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“It is exactly such a principle which will guaranty every Iranian citizen, whether male or female, Kurd, Fars, Arab, Baluch or Azari - or Muslim, Jewish or Christian, etcetera - to enjoy complete equality.”
However, he denied he was trying to seize back power in Iran for himself by pushing for the reinstatement of the monarchy, saying he was supporting Iranians’ “quest for freedom and dignity” and “ability to hold elections freely so that they can, for themselves, decide their own future”.
“My only concern at this time is the liberation of my homeland,” he said.
“My personal fate is not a preoccupation; I am in this selflessly without regards to what might be thrown at me or how dramatic the swing of the clock’s pendulum.”
He referred to the “visionless chaos the clerics have brought to Iran”, arguing a constitutional monarchy could help ensure stability if the current regime was toppled.
“Some of the staunchest and most stable democracies just happen to be constitutional monarchies,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prince Reza claimed to enjoy support from compatriots who wanted him to play a key role in the “liberation of my homeland”.
“The social, political and economic sentiments in Iran are based on a restlessness caused by a sense of lost opportunities,” he said.
“When Iranians travel, especially the region, they sense first-hand what the cost of clerical militancy has been for Iran.
“And so they aspire for a chance to start anew and rebuild from the ruins of Khomeinism.
“The people of Iran deservedly aspire for dignity and self-determination, two principals that have proven incompatible with the clerics running the country.”
However, he admitted the previous regime of his forefathers had its faults.
“The previous regime was not perfect, but both my father and my grandfather are today giant figures in Iran, regarded as the architects of a modern and prospering Iran (at a time) when Iranians of all ethnicities and faiths lived peacefully together; a sharp contrast with the ruin of the clerical regime,” he said.
“Today our task, and particularly that of the young generation, is to usher in a new era of liberty, dignity equality and opportunity.
“Only then can Iran get back on track and continue its interrupted path towards modernity, progress and prosperity.”