PHOTO: President Rouhani addresses Iranian provincial governors on Thursday
In an unexpected development, Iran’s President Rouhani has hit back at the Supreme Leader’s endorsement of the disqualification of thousands of candidates for February’s elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts.
In a speech to election officials on Thursday, Rouhani — whose call for discussions with the Guardian Council, the 12-member body imposing the bans, appeared to have been blocked by Ayatollah Khamenei — implicitly referred to the Council’s approval of only 30 out of 3,000 reformist candidates:
If one faction is represented in the elections and another is not, then why are we holding elections? ….This country belongs to all. All sectors, groups, and factions should be able to send their representatives to Parliament….
The Parliament is a house for the nation, not for a particular faction.
Rouhani continued, “We must create hope, enthusiasm, competition….The best deserve entrance to [the Parliament], regardless of their affinity with any special party or person.”
Saying that no official is legitimate without the people’s vote, Rouhani “urgently asked” Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, and 1st Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri to “seriously cooperate and consult with” the Council.
Rebuffing the Supreme Leader
More than 12,000 people had applied to stand for the 290 seats in Parliament, while more than 800 filed for the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which chooses the Supreme Leader.
However, last weekend, as attention was focused on implementation of the nuclear deal, the Guardian Council carried out a purge of the candidates. Iranian media and politicians indicated that 60% were rejected, including 50 of Iran’s 290 MPs. Not only reformists were affected — “maverick” politicians like conservative MP Ali Motahari were banned, and a signal was sent to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani with the blocking of 13 candidates linked to him.
Rouhani, who tried unsuccessfully last summer to blunt the powers of the Council, said he would work with the 12 members to correct any “mistake”. However, the Supreme Leader intervened forcefully on Wednesday in his own address to the election officials, saying that it was right to ban candidates who were “not accepting the [Islamic Republic’s] system”.
See Iran Daily, Jan 21: Supreme Leader Clamps Down on Elections
Khamenei justified his position with a reference to the blacklisting of Americans, for alleged Communist sympathies, in the 1950s: “There is no place in the world where people who disagree with the principles of that country’s establishment are allowed into the centers of decision-making.”
The head of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Jannati, defended the disqualifications on Thursday, saying the Council was ensuring “healthy, free, legal, and competitive” elections and would “not be affected by pressure”.
One Council member, Siamak Rahpeyk, said it was “probable” that “approximately 10 to 15%” of candidates would be reinstated.
Criticism Continues
A series of politicians challenged the disqualifications on Thursday. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was blocked by the Council from standing in the 2013 Presidential election, told religious scholars from the holy city of Qom that Iranians should be able to choose their representatives from a wide spectrum of views. He warned of consequences if “people’s demands ignored”, saying that they are aware that “censorship does not work”
Conservative MP Motahari protested his ban, saying he “completely believes in the political system” while having a “different view” about the Islamic Republic. Leading reformist Mohammad Reza Aref, who was approved to stand, said he hopes the Guardian Council will “fundamentally” revise its decisions.
However, Tehran Friday Prayer leader Ayatollah Mohavedi Kermani maintained, “The Guardian Council is just….If someone is problematic, they will not confirm [him].”
(Hat tip to Iran Tracker for translations)