Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, met Monday morning with officials in charge of presidential and city and village councils elections. Speaking at the meeting, His Eminence described the enthusiastic presence of all the people in the elections on the 24th of Khordad as a guarantee for the success of the country. He stressed that organizations in charge of supervision and officials in charge of elections should act within the law at all stages.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described insulting the tomb of Hujr ibn Adi, the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) companion, as a tragic event, stressing: "Muslims - particularly scientific, political and religious personalities of the world of Islam - should carry out their responsibility in the face of this malevolent move and they should prevent the fire of fitna from spreading."
Ayatollah Khamenei described elections as the great manifestation of national and Islamic trust, adding: "The Guardian Council, organizations in charge of holding and supervising elections and organizations in charge of creating a safe and healthy environment for elections are responsible for safeguarding this great trust. They have important and valuable responsibilities which will exert a permanent influence on the country."
His Eminence pointed to the significant role of elections in reviving the country and the Revolution, saying: "Over these 34 years, elections have been a crucial and determining factor in helping our country move forward. Over these years, each time the people went to ballot boxes - more than thirty elections have been held in our country - they prevented many disasters. Each time their presence managed to give fresh impetus to our country, nation and Revolution."
He said that the elections on the 24th of Khordad are more important, in certain ways, than previous elections, stating: "Holding the presidential elections and city and village councils elections at the same time is one of the reasons why the upcoming elections are very significant."
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the establishment of councils in all cities and villages throughout the country as the manifestation of the constant presence of the people in the arena of making decisions for the country. Addressing officials, the people and outstanding personalities, he said: "Paying attention to presidential elections should not make you ignore the significance of city and village council elections."
Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned that, as it has been specified in the Constitution and other laws, the president has many responsibilities and he has been provided with many resources, further adding: "The Constitution and the current legal system in the country have provided the executive branch and the president with many resources and with a large budget so that it can tread the path of achieving ideals. Therefore, presidential elections are extremely important."
His Eminence described Imam Khomeini (r.a.) as an innovator and engineer who built the great structure of the Islamic Republic on the basis of the presence of the people. He stated that Imam (r.a.) insisted on holding a referendum and other elections for determining the role of the Islamic Republic. He said: "This is the nature of the Islamic Republic. Thankfully, this has been preserved in the Islamic Republic. Many people wanted to undermine elections and delay them. They wanted to undermine the presence of the people in elections. They had a motivation for doing this, but they failed. They have failed to do this to this day."
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the presence of the people on the scene as the main reason for the strength of the Islamic Republic, stating: "In the Islamic Republic, if the people are not present on the scene, The Islamic Republic means nothing. The Islamic Republic is not comprised of a few officials like me. The Islamic Republic means the widespread presence of the people of Iran and their movement towards ideals and great and practical goals. This is the meaning of the Islamic Republic."
Ayatollah Khamenei added: "The Islamic Republic and its power rely on the hearts, emotions and feelings of the people. They rely on the wisdom and the understanding of the people. If, over these 30-something years, the enemies have not managed to undermine the Islamic Republic, the reason is this. Otherwise, would this materialistic and arrogant world and these oppressive, cruel and evil powers allow such a system with its lofty claims to survive?"
His Eminence stressed: "By Allah's favor and grace, the upcoming election will be one of our best and most enthusiastic elections."
He referred to the constant efforts of foreigners to counteract the presence of the Iranian nation in elections, further stating: "Like what they did in the year 1388, the enemy is trying to counteract the people's efforts. This was one of the things which the enemies did. They made some people build up certain illegal expectations so that, based on these expectations, they would try to pit the people against the Islamic Republic. Of course, by Allah's favor, they failed."
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to a number of events which took place in the year 1388, saying: "In that year, if those individuals who inflicted a loss on the country and the people and those who imposed unnecessary expenses on the country had observed the law, that situation would not have been brought about. The law has specified that if anybody has a complaint, they should step forward. This was mentioned in that year. We even asked the honorable members of the Guardian Council to extend the time for counting votes. We said that they can recount as many boxes as they want. But they [who claimed fraud] did not accept it. What they did was irrational. They imposed unnecessary expenses on the country. Well, our country overcomes these challenges because the Islamic Republic of Iran is strong."
Ayatollah Khamenei described observing the law as the only way to prevent problems that may occur during elections, further stressing: "Wherever they are, all the people - including the people in the capital, big cities and villages - should try to express their viewpoints on the basis of the law. If anybody has an expectation, they should express it within the law."
His Eminence stressed that all officials in charge of holding elections should act within the law, reiterating: "In order to honor the people's trust, you should observe the law. The law should be strictly observed on the issue of qualifying presidential candidates, candidates running for city and village council elections and other candidates who may run for future elections. Also, the law should be observed on the issue of counting the votes and protecting the ballot boxes."
He stated that learning how to show revolutionary patience is necessary for all the people, further adding: "It is clear that in each election a number of people do not achieve the desired results. I do not want to refer to these people as losers in elections. Words such as losers, winners and other such western and materialistic words and expressions should not be used. If we enter the arena for the sake of God and for carrying out our responsibilities, then winning and losing are meaningless. We should tolerate everything which may happen in elections - which is based on law. We should learn this. This is revolutionary patience. This is revolutionary tolerance."
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned that anything candidates say may exert either a positive or a negative influence on the future of the country, further stating: "We should evaluate the commitment, faith, preparedness and capabilities of candidates and we should act according to our evaluation. If you and I, who want to vote, enter the arena with pure intentions and for carrying out our responsibilities and making decisions for the future of our country, then Allah the Exalted will guide our hearts."
Ayatollah Khamenei described elections as the right and the responsibility of the people, reiterating: "Those who want to evaluate the qualifications of candidates and make a decision according to that evaluation should take everything into consideration. The president should be diligent, popular, steadfast and wise. He should be committed to values and rules and regulations because he is the enforcer of the law. Moreover, he should feel the needs of the people and he should pay attention to all the people from different social backgrounds."
His Eminence stated that each vote the people cast influences the results of elections, stressing: "Nobody should say, 'what kind of influence does my vote exert anyway?'. When individuals come together, they form millions-strong groups. Everybody should feel that they are responsible and, by Allah's favor, they should enter the arena."
He reiterated: "The security, immunity and progress of the country will be definitely reinforced with the widespread presence and maximum participation of the people. And, by Allah's favor, this country will be able to take another step towards the lofty goals of the Islamic Revolution."
Elsewhere in his statements, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described destroying the tomb of Hujr ibn Adi, the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) companion, and insulting his body as a tragic event, further adding: "Another reason why this is a tragic event is that there are some people among Muslims and the Islamic Ummah who have backward, superstitious and malevolent ideas and who consider commemorating outstanding and enlightened personalities of the early Islamic era as a polytheistic and blasphemous move. This is really a disaster."
Ayatollah Khamenei added: "These are the people whose forefathers destroyed the tombs of the Imams (a.s.) in al-Baqi. The day when Muslims throughout the world of Islam - from the Indian Subcontinent to Africa - rose up against them, they would have completely annihilated the pure tomb of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) if they had had the courage."
His Eminence reiterated: "They make these evil moves under the pretext that commemorating such people is a kind of worship. Is paying a visit to the grave of an individual in a spiritual environment and asking Allah the Exalted to show His mercy on him and on oneself a polytheistic act? Polytheism means being a tool in the hands of the intelligence services of England and America and distressing the hearts of Muslims. These people do not consider obeying, worshipping and kneeling before the current taghuti powers as a polytheistic act, but they consider respecting outstanding personalities as a polytheistic act. This is a disaster. The evil and blasphemous movement which has begun in the world of Islam thanks to the financial resources of the enemies - unfortunately, they have money and resources - is one of the disasters of Islam."
He referred to the appropriate response of Shia Muslims, adding: "Thankfully, Shia Muslims in our country, in Iraq, in Pakistan and wherever they became involved with this event showed that they enjoy intellectual growth and maturity. By doing this, the enemy wants to fuel the fire of Shia and Sunni differences. However, the great Shia community and the great family of the followers of the Holy Prophet's (s.w.a.) household showed that they were not deceived by this game."
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that the reaction of Sunni Muslims to this event is indicative of their deep understanding, further stressing: "If these moves are not vigorously condemned by Muslims and if academic, intellectual and political personalities do not carry out their responsibilities in the face of these people, such fitna will not end in this. A disaster will befall the Islamic community and the fire of this fitna will spread on a daily basis. Muslims should prevent such fitnas through political actions, fatwas and articles which should be written by intellectuals and outstanding and political personalities in the world."
His Eminence stated that those who are acting behind the scenes are revealing themselves, saying: "Those who mourn and create uproar for the destruction of an archeological site - whether international organizations, international personalities or the politicians who are supporting the blind perpetrators of this crime - have remained silent on this issue."
He stressed: "They use tricks, but divine tricks will definitely outwit their tricks and will block the path of the movement which wants to create obstacles in the way of the Islamic Ummah and its progress."