in Iran, the presidential election weighs down the economy

Iran’s 61 million voters are being called this Friday to elect a successor to President Ebrahim Raïssi, who died in a helicopter accident at the end of May. An election which takes place against a backdrop of economic slump, accentuated by international sanctions.

In Iran, the Grand Bazaar of Tehran serves as a thermometer for the country’s economic situation. Historical commercial lung of the capital, where you can find everything, carpets, spices, fabrics, gold and jewelry, generally very lively, the place nevertheless has a particular atmosphere: the traders are looking gloomy at the moment. “With the election campaign, trade is gloomy”explains Ali, owner of a clothing accessories store. “The main reason for this bad climate is the presidential election. Generally, politics has a direct impact on business. If politics goes well, other things will go well too.“, he explains.

Iran’s 61 million voters are going to the polls this Friday to elect a new president, following the helicopter crash in late May that killed former head of state Ebrahim Raisi. At the same time, the Iranian economy is under pressure, weighed down by international sanctions and very high inflation, officially 40% per year.

The local currency has depreciated sharply against the dollar. As a result, his customers’ wallets are empty, Akbar notes from his fabric and chador shop. “We must increase wages, we must stop inflation, because prices keep increasing”he says.

“The price of a chador was between 200,000 and 250,000 tomans. But for two or three years, it has cost 1 and a half million. A mother and her two daughters came to buy three rolls of fabric. But now, the mother ‘can’t afford it anymore.’

Akbar, a fabric seller in Tehran’s bazaar

to franceinfo

Will the arrival of a new president restore some colour to household purchasing power? In her haberdashery, Maryam is not very optimistic: “In my opinion, people have no hope for their future”, she believes. And to add: “If the new president-elect listens to our problems and solves them, maybe hope will be reborn. If we had a stable economy, there would be hope for children, adolescents and the future generation.”

But in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, traders have few illusions.