In The Name of Allah, The Most beneficent, The Merciful
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, especially those remaining in the lands.
O' Allah, send Your salutations upon 'Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, the recipient of God's pleasure, your chosen saint; salutations in an amount known only to You; salutations that are as persistent as the persistence of Your kingdom and Your power.
Congratulations on the ten blessed days of Keramat and the birth of Hazrat Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) to our entire nation, to all those eager to visit the shrine of that sacred man, while, unfortunately, we have all been deprived of this marvellous grace for a long time. We hope that God Almighty, with the blessings of the prayer and intercession of this sacred man, increases his mercy and grace on this nation day by day, and we hope the blessings of the Iranian nation's proximity to this holy shrine, God willing, increase day by day.
The duty of the people towards the elections: participation in the elections and the type of participation
My discussion today is solely focused on the elections. In less than 48 hours, a crucial event will take place in the country, namely, the presidential election and the election of town and village councils. Indeed, the fate of the country at this period in time and in all spheres (economy, cultural issues, security, health, and so on) depends on what you, the people of Iran, will do on Friday, God willing. That is, through your presence and your vote, you will determine the fate of the country in all major spheres.
The fruits of the people's presence in the elections and the reason for the enemies' enmity with it
The critical job of the people on Friday will be, firstly, participation, secondly, the type of participation and the type of choice, which we hope God Almighty will guide all our hearts, the hearts of the Iranian nation so that we can appear in the best way in this field.
In one of the recent talks, we said that the presence of the people has a strong principle in the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a solid intellectual basis. This is not just a political issue. Of course, the political benefits of the presence of the people are many; however, in addition to these, and, most important of all, is the philosophy of the presence of the people in the system of the Islamic Republic; That is, in the Islamic Republic, the "Republic" is one part, and the "Islamic" is another. If the Republic is not present, the Islamic Republic will not be realized. Of course, it has many fruits and blessings in terms of political aspects and effects, some of which I will mention later. This is precisely the reason why all the centres of evil power all around the world are hostile towards the Islamic Republic and oppose it and especially the elections. In all our elections over the decades, their media and political tools have always served to mentally destroy the people in relation to the elections and interfere with the elections in any way if they can; in order not to let the glory of the Iranian elections show itself. Of course, despite their useless efforts, during all these years, all the elections were held on time, not closed, not a day behind. People came to the polls and voted. Of course, there was Propagation; this has always continued from before the elections until after the elections. Perhaps nowhere in the world can we find a country whose elections have been attacked so much by the enemies. And in regards to our election on Friday, the day after tomorrow, the American media, the British media, and those mercenaries working under their flags and in their media are working themselves to death to perhaps be able to question the presence of the people, and this has been going on for several months now. They want to diminish the presence of our people and question the elections of the Islamic Republic in any way. They use any type of talking points and propaganda to achieve this.
Distancing people from the system; The purpose of the enemies in opposing the elections in Iran
They aim not to hold these elections in the way the Islamic Republic wants; what does this mean? It means people should distance themselves from the system; Because the absence of the people in the elections is naturally a distance of the people from the system of the Islamic Republic; This is their goal. Of course, people have not listened to them; We are not dealing with certain groups now that are repeating the same thing in the press or cyberspace media these days. But experience and the people have shown that they have done the opposite of what the enemy wants; both in the elections and in the marches and various other issues. This time, God willing, it will be the same; The people, God willing, will be present and will honour the Islamic Republic system.
I would like to say that the truth is that in the world of politics - the policies of the Islamic Republic, the policies of the country, as well as events that have a political flavour - are some facts that should be looked at beyond political tastes and conflicts. Suppose, for example, the funeral of our dear martyr Soleimani; well, it was a great event; It was no longer a matter of political taste; everyone participated; Elections are like this. There is no question of political taste in elections; Everyone must participate, everyone must attend; Because the country's social system needs this presence and its effects. I will now present some of the effects.
Participation in elections; an example of righteous action
Let me make a few points about the importance of people's presence. But before I make these points, I would like to refer to this noble verse which is in Surah Bara'at - verse 120 - that a part of this verse and a fragment of this verse is the part I am reading: nor do they tread any ground enraging the faithless, nor do they gain any ground against an enemy but a righteous deed is written for them. The content of these two verses that I read from this verse, in short, is that every action and action of yours that the enemy is displeased with is a righteous action before God. As you can see, the enemies of religion, Islam, and Iran strongly oppose your election, so holding an election is a righteous act.
Those who seek righteous deeds - except those who believe and do righteous deeds and want to do righteous deeds must know that participating in elections is a righteous deed.
The effect of people's presence on increasing the power and authority of the system and the country
And as for the points I want to make; I will mention a few. The most important point is the elections show the presence of the people on the scene.
What does "people on the scene" mean? It means the system of the Islamic Republic has the support of the people. This has a unique effect on the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the country's authority. It means nothing, no instrument of power, is as empowering for the country as the presence of the people. Yes, we consider military tools, political tools, economic tools to be empowering and empowering for the country, but none of them is as powerful as the presence of the people. The presence of the people strengthens the system of the Islamic Republic in the true sense of the word. Well, you see those who make fallacies about the election - you can see some of these statements which unfortunately some make during the speeches in newspapers and cyberspace - talk about the election with various sophistry to discourage people from participating in the elections; they in fact seek to weaken the system and the external enemies who explicitly attack the elections also seek to weaken the system; They know that if the presence of the people weakens and if the country becomes weak, then they can make the country insecure, make it suffer from terrorism, and make it a hotbed of terrorists. This is if the country becomes weak, and the support from the presence of the people in the country diminishes. Of course, they do not specify this, but in the corner of their words, this meaning is fully heard, and it can be seen that they are looking for this; They want people to not have a presence so that the system weakens, and they can disrupt the country, and intervene, making the country a haven for their mercenaries; This is what man sees.
The inverse relationship between the presence of people and the pressures of the enemy
Another point is that if we face a reduction in the presence of the people, in return we will have an increase in pressure from the enemy; They have in the true sense of the word an inverse relationship with each other. If we have, in the country, a small increase in the number of people [present], we will have a great increase in the pressure of the enemies. If we want to eliminate or reduce the pressures of the enemies, [such as] economic pressures, the sanctions and the like, the way is the increase in the presence of the people in the country which exhibits the support of people to the enemies.
The powerfulness of the president-elect with a high turnout
Another point that is also important is that the president-elect, if selected with a high vote count, will have immense support, will be a strong and powerful president and can do great things. Praise be to God, the country has great power - I will say a sentence in this regard later - the country has many capabilities, there are many facilities and opportunities in our country; Taking advantage of these opportunities requires strong, active, prolific, resolute and tenacious powerful people. This "powerfulness" of the president - apart from the personal aspects – is mostly gained from the support of the people. If the presence of the people has a good quorum and the president is elected with a high vote, God willing, it will enable him to use these capacities properly.
The health of elections during different periods
The next point is the healthy conduction of elections. I have said it before and will now emphasize it. Fortunately, over the years, our elections have always been conducted in full integrity. Those who protest, [yes,] there may be a disruption in one corner, but the overall election was healthy and strong. A clear and convincing proof is the election of presidents with completely different political perspectives and tastes during the presidential elections in the past decades. This shows healthy conduction of election; meaning, the election was not subject to a particular political thought or a particular political taste; No, it was administered following the law; Sometimes the president came to power with a political taste, sometimes the president came to power with a completely different political taste. So, the elections are healthy elections.
Existence of competition and contradictions between candidates in debates
It is said there is no competition; God willing, competition exists; as you saw in the debates – I have some words regarding the debates that I will God willing talk about after the elections -You have noticed that in the debates, the respected candidates showed that they are moving quite competitively; meaning, there were intellectual, and linguistic conflicts between the candidates, each of which ultimately has his supporters. This, after all, is one of the indisputable facts of our elections.
Of course, the enemies have always questioned the people's votes from the beginning of the revolution until today, from the day the referendum of the Islamic Republic was held, with 98 and slightly higher positive votes until today; They question all elections. Well, one does not expect the enemy to admit that our elections are correct. Interestingly, there are some countries that are managed and administered by tribal administrations in the middle of the 21st century; That is, management under the rule of a tribe, and not having even the faintest clue of what elections are and the people of these countries do not know what a ballot box is, they cannot even differentiate between a ballot box and a fruit box; [They do not know] what the ballot box is. They set up 24-hour television to speak against our elections, saying that Iran's elections are not democratic! This is also one of the interesting issues that we have these days
The rightful complaint of the deprived sections of the society and the wrong decision not to participate in the elections
Another noteworthy point is that some of those sceptical about participating in the elections; meaning, they are hesitant or discouraged, are the weak strata of society; Deprived sections of society. I am aware of this; We know from opinion polls and surveys. Some deprived sections of the society have pertinent expectations and complaints that have not been met; The issue of livelihood, the issue of housing, the issue of employment, which, well, the country's officials really should have reached out to and taken care of; They are dispirited, so reluctant to the polls; They say, let's say, we participated, what is the use! In my opinion, their unhappiness is justified, but their decisions are not in place; Yes, these complaints are the right complaints, they should have been addressed, and the future government must put these strata of the society at the top of its agenda, But the argument is not going to the polls and getting angry with the ballot box does not solve the problem. If these problems are to be solved, they will be solved through the crowds going to the polls. We all go to the polls and vote for someone we believe can solve these problems; this will solve the problem; Otherwise, I do not think it is right for us not to vote because we have a complaint. The future government must certainly do its part in this regard.
The need for participation and activity of youth for encouraging attendance of the people in elections
The other point is about young people. I have much faith in the youth, and I believe that the youth are leading and advancing in all the country's major issues; They are at the forefront of the issue and move others forward. It should be the same in the elections. My expectation from the youth - the dear youth of the country - is to encourage the movement towards the ballot boxes and the participation of the people as much as they can and to be active in this field; Especially the first voters, we have a large number of first voters. In each of the presidential elections, a large number of voters are first-time voters. Their presence in the elections is, in fact, a political Taklif celebration; It is, in fact, a political Taklif celebration in which they enter.
Injecting the spirit of despair into society despite having very capable people
The last point I want to make and end my talk with is that I see some people with false analysis who want to inject a spirit of despair and hopelessness into people, to disappoint people. Nothing is expected from the enemy. Unfortunately, inside, some people, with pessimism, with weak analysis, weak in its literal sense, say things that want to disappoint people; Or they do not want it [to be like this], but in practice, they are causing disappointment in people; I say this is wrong; there should absolutely be no despair and disappointment in our country. Our nation is powerful; it is a nation of wills; the foundation of our country is strong. We are a powerful country. In the second step, I explained in the statement in various speeches; We are a great nation, we are a powerful country, we have many capabilities, and these capabilities are not hidden from the eyes of our enemies. Everyone knows.
Examples of the capabilities of the Iranian nation and youth
In different sectors, wherever our nation made an effort, it was able to do great things; This was the main principle of the revolution, and the formation of the Islamic Republic was the same and the issues of the imposed war; The last issue, and the last case, is the corona vaccine. Well, our young people did not wait for the stingy hands of foreigners to sell us the vaccine. The officials said they bought the vaccine from some world centre, paid for it, but they did not give the vaccine; This is how the world is. Our youth did not wait for this. From the first days, they started trying, working; They worked on the vaccine in important ways until they got the vaccine. It was announced yesterday, and I was informed in writing that they developed the domestic vaccine, and we became one of the five or six countries in the world that can produce the corona vaccine and also has a good infrastructure. I was told that in a month, they could produce, I think about fifty million, thirty million, something like this - I do not remember now and distribute it. Now, this is about one of the vaccines announced recently. Other vaccines are also being produced in many other centres. They will also arrive one after another, God willing. This shows the ability of the nation.
It was the same before; A few years ago, we needed 20% enriched uranium for our radiopharmaceuticals; We constantly received promises one after another, and in the end, nothing was received; Well, in a short period, within a few months, our young people made an effort and made 20% enriched uranium without any need for [the west]. Now they are shouting, why did you make the 20%. They are now making 60% for various other uses. Of course, all our nuclear spending is peaceful.
The same goes for defensive tools; We needed defensive tools, and they did not sell us, as I have said many times; Our young people themselves started, today we have good ones, better ones, more effective than what we wanted to provide from them inside the country. This nation cannot be disappointed with these abilities, effort, strong foundation; their efforts are futile, And I think those who make pointless analyses with despairing effect are doing wrong; Thank God, this nation has good abilities.
Pieces of advice for the election officials:1) Make the necessary arrangements to maintain the voters' health
Well, my talk about the elections are almost over, and I want to advise the election officials, firstly expressing gratitude, that they must first consider and anticipate the necessary arrangements for the health of the people at the polls; Because the people want to participate and participation of people and people at the ballot box should be in a way which doesn't' harm the health of the society at all, which requires certain arrangements. Of course, the officials announced they are working on this issue; I also emphasize that they must put effort.
2) Solving the problem of ballot shortage in all parts of the country
Secondly, the problem is the lack of ballot papers, which is one of the problems repeatedly faced in the elections, and we have constantly received complaints that there are no ballot papers in a certain spot. Or for instance in some places, the elections start at 7 or 8 o'clock but ballot papers still have not arrived. This problem should be solved; Do not allow a place to be left without ballot papers, arrive late, or not arrive, or have a shortage; This is the second thing that needs to be thought about in advance.
3) Solving the problems of voting abroad
Thirdly, in the reports related to abroad, it has been reported to me in some countries - perhaps a large number of countries - the necessary preparations have not been provided; This is what they say. I strongly urge the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to follow up on this issue and, because there is no time left, do not let the Iranians in these countries who are interested in participating in the elections be left waiting; This was the next point.
Dealing with violations
And fourth, to deal with any violations. These are my petitions.
We ask God Almighty to guide our hearts. Lord! Hearts are at your disposal and in your hands; Guide all these hearts to what is good for this country and good for this nation.