Chapter 8: After the Elections: New Hopes and New Policies

>> for a general introduction to Iran and its capital city, go to chapter 1 !

 

According to a census conducted in 2011 the number of young population in Iran had reached 24,059,000 and presidential candidates have said they have plans to resolve youth unemployment.
Iran has not a stable political situation. Every new president has to deal with many new issues. With the high percentage of the young population in the country, their main audience is the young population and they are trying to trigger this group.

In the elections of June 14th, some 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote. While the number of eligible voters increases, the composition of the electorate is also shifting as a result of demographic and other socio-economic trends. For example, based on the census data from October 2011 (the latest census in Iran), it was estimated that the age group of 18 to 35 will make up about 50% of the electorate. In other words, the candidates that can attract the younger groups will be in a better position to score results. It is therefore no coincidence that some of the candidates are focusing on the younger generation and their concerns, such as job creation and cultural freedoms.

Due to the fact that employment and marriage are the major problems of the youth, the presidential candidates have mostly focused on these two matters.



Figure: Various quotations from the new president (own illustration)

>> for a general introduction to Iran

and its capital city, go to chapter 1 !

Special thanks to Sina for this illustration of Iran !