Political reactions ran nonstop in Tehran after the Guardian Council has stunned both of the reform parties and the moderation party camps by refusing over 65 candidates revoking their eligibility for parliament elections; 99 % of those refused belong to the reformist party.
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The vast rejection of reformist candidates on Monday, however – only 30 of 3,000 seeking a seat in parliament were reportedly approved – led to claims next month’s vote would not be credible.
Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran seems to have developed a rift with the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, in the build up towards the upcoming dual elections on February 26.
Of over 12,000 hopefuls who applied to run in the February parliamentary elections, around 4,700 have been approved by the Guardian Council, which is responsible for vetting candidates.
“This is the biggest number of disqualifications in (Iran’s) history”, said one prominent reformist, Hossein Marashi.
However, later on January 20 following the reports regarding the extensive disapprovals, the supreme leader said he had called on the people to cast vote in election, including even those who don’t accept the system, but he didn’t mean sending those people into the parliament.
His remarks underscored tension about the elections following the nuclear agreement his government struck with the United States and five other major world powers.
“Parliament is the house of the whole nation”, said Rouhani adding that “the bests deserve entrance to it, regardless of their affinity with any special party or person”.
The lifting of global sanctions on Iran on Saturday has bolstered the popularity of Rouhani.
Some conservatives were among the 7,300 candidates who were disqualified by the Guardian Council. “Executors and observers should pay attention that the law is respected”.
He said that while religious and other minorities such as Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, whose combined population in Iran numbers less than 500,000 each have four members in parliament, larger groups should also be represented. “Yet there is a faction in this country with seven or 10 million”, he added, again alluding to reformists and receiving wide applause. He said Thursday that he assigned Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri to consult with the Guardian Council over the case because “talks and consultations are the best way” to settle the dispute.
“Hassan Rouhani paid homage to and fully endorsed the blatantly anti-democratic and contradictory statements [by Ayatollah Khamenei]”, said Tudeh global secretary Navid Shomali.
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On Wednesday, Khamenei, 76, urged a strong turnout, arguing that those “who approve of the system, its interests and national values” should be elected.
