Iran elections: ‘Our young generation is going to waste’
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00:00This is Mashhad, Iran's second city, home to one of the most revered sites in Shia Islam,
00:06the Imam Reza Shrine, burial place of the 8th Shia Imam.
00:11It's a big draw for Shia pilgrims from around the world, particularly from neighbouring
00:15Iraq.
00:17Iran's galloping inflation has made it extremely cheap for Iraqi tourists to spend their money
00:22here.
00:24The cost of living has gone up compared to before, but the dollar exchange rate is favourable
00:28to us.
00:29Before we exchanged 100 dollars for 1.3 million rials, now we get more than 5 million.
00:37For Iranians, a very different picture.
00:40People here say there's nothing they can do but hope for a better future.
00:45They say there aren't any problems, that the economy is fine, but we can see it everywhere,
00:50we can feel it.
00:52Our young generation is going to waste.
00:55Those who can leave Iran have already left.
00:58Those of us who have nowhere to go have to stay in Beirut.
01:02Yes, it's tough.
01:05The cost of living crisis is a big issue.
01:07I hope things will improve in the future.
01:11Ibrahim Raisi, laid to rest here in his hometown, was elected in 2021 on a pledge to lift Iranians
01:17out of poverty.
01:21But under his presidency, the economy didn't improve.
01:25Iran's clerical rulers vet the candidates vying to replace him on June 28, meaning big
01:30change is unlikely.
01:34I'll take part in the elections out of respect for Ibrahim Raisi.
01:37I'll vote for someone similar to him who also carries on his policies.
01:43Years of sanctions have battered Iran's economy, and it means that in the upcoming presidential
01:48elections, there can be no doubt that the cost of living crisis will be one of the biggest
01:53issues on voters' minds here.
01:55Well, France 24's Andrew Hillier, who filed that report, joins me in the studio.
02:01Andrew, first start by telling us more about Iran's political calendar.
02:05What comes next in the build-up to this election?
02:07Well, Carys, just some key dates to begin with.
02:10So today, the registration period for presidential candidates opens in Iran.
02:15That will close next Monday.
02:18Then it'll be the start of the official presidential campaign from June 10.
02:22That's before the presidential vote itself is held on June 28.
02:26Now, what about the process itself?
02:29Well, it's no secret, Carys, that Iran's clerical rulers exert a big influence over the electoral
02:36system in Iran, in particular via the Guardian Council.
02:40That is a 12-member body composed of theologians, half of them selected, handpicked by the supreme
02:48leader, the other half selected by the judiciary and then approved by parliament.
02:54Now, this body is very important.
02:56Why?
02:57Because it vets candidates not only for the presidency, but also for parliament and for
03:03the assembly of experts, another elected body which is tasked with choosing the supreme
03:08leader.
03:09And effectively, what happens is that candidates who are not seen as adhering to strict Islamic
03:15precepts are effectively screened out.
03:18Critics say that narrows the field of candidates down, screening out reformist candidates and
03:24leaving a field of mainly hardline conservatives.
03:27All right.
03:28And that report that we've just seen, you travelled to Mashhad as part of a team.
03:33What was the experience like travelling and filming there?
03:36Yes.
03:37So our France 24 team was given permission to report from Mashhad on Ibrahim Raisi's
03:43funeral procession.
03:45Now this is something I think that Iran's rulers wanted the world to see.
03:50And that may be why foreign media such as France 24 was given access to report from
03:56Mashhad.
03:57We were given the green light to go to Mashhad only a few hours after putting in the request.
04:02That's something that rarely happens.
04:04Once we were on the ground, we were never hindered in our reporting as long as we stuck
04:09within the confines of our accreditation.
04:14And this is indeed what Iran's rulers want the world to see.
04:16Images of thousands of people in the streets for that funeral procession.
04:22It's how Iran's rulers project an image of legitimacy and of continuity.
04:29Now by our count, there were definitely tens of thousands of people in the streets as you
04:34can see in these pictures filmed by our France 24 team.
04:37At one point, the mayor of Mashhad even claimed up to three million people were present.
04:42Now that would be the equivalent of Mashhad's entire population.
04:45So that's very hard, if not impossible, to verify.
04:48But amongst those people who did attend, there was definitely, I think, a lot of enthusiasm
04:54to pay tribute.
04:55These are people who supported Ibrahim Raisi for his hardline policies.
05:01They supported him for his unwavering obedience to the country's supreme leader.
05:05And these are people who essentially were very happy and curious to see foreign media
05:10present and were very open to speaking to the media.