"Our vote" written in Persian - Iranian presidential elections 2021 - candidate promotion points in Tehran

Yes, Iran has a functioning democracy, and no, this episode won’t help you fully understand its complex structure. We can, however, help you understand that its structure has a presidential role. Yes, every four years Iranians will get out and vote for a candidate to fulfil this role. This year—2021—is one of those years, but rumour has it that not as many Iranians will go and exercise their democratic duties. This doesn’t seem to just be a rumour, however! Some of our Iranian audience on Instagram suggested they likely not participate in this Iran presidential election.

In this episode, we do our very best to give you an overview of how Iran is both similar and different in its political structure. We also share our experiences of voting in Iran during recent years. Lastly, we give you an audio glimpse of how Tehran looks as it gears up to election day. Oh, and we delicately skirt around how things went down with previous elections. We’re looking at you 2009!

Will America and Iran kiss and make up?

Tehran Municipality’s promotional strawboard for the 2021 Iran presidential elections.

If you’re interested in getting a geopolitical view on how the 2021 elections might influence things between Tehran and Washington, check out this episode. We had Michael Hilliard of the Red Line podcast on the show to discuss his take on how this election can help America and Iran get back into the JCPOA.

So, for a general overview of the political structure of Iran as well as a glimpse as to how a presidential election goes down in Iran, check this episode out.

Questions we also get answers to in this episode

  • Is Iran a democratic nation?
  • What type of political system exists in Iran?
  • Does Iran have a president or prime minister?
  • Are there political parties in Iran?
  • Can women be presidential candidates in Iran?
  • What happened when the UAE authorities didn’t let Iranians vote?

2021 Iran election street scenes

Promotional posters for a Tehran city council candidate for the 2021 elections, situated on Valiasr Street.
Promotional posters for a Tehran city council candidate for the 2021 elections, situated on Valiasr Street.

Translation of Persian (Farsi) used during this episode

PersianEnglish translations
Ray:“Vote”
Poost:“Skin”
Koosa:“Shark”
Khoda biaamorzeh:“God bless his/her soul”
“a” appearing alone, is pronounced as a short-a — double ‘aa’s are long, as used in the word “water”

Promotional posters of Tehran city’s 2021 council candidates

Promotional posters of various Tehran city council candidate for the 2021 elections, situated in Mellat Park.
Promotional posters of various Tehran city council candidate for the 2021 elections, situated in Mellat Park.

Image credit: one of the promotional points for Iranian candidates at the 2021 elections, edited by Ask An Iranian