New power struggle erupts in Iran

BBC ^ | Sunday, 11 January, 2004 | uncredited

[FormerACLUmember]

Reformists walked out of parliament on Sunday Hundreds of reformist candidates in Iran have been barred from standing in general elections next month by an unelected conservative body. Reformists walked out of parliament on Sunday to protest against the ruling - they also plan to hold a sit-in.

Up to half the candidates registered were reportedly disqualified by the Guardian Council.

They include the brother of President Khatami, who is head of the country's largest reform party, the IIPF.

If this decision is upheld, there will not be elections but designations

The 12-member Guardian Council, made up of six clerics and six Islamic lawyers, is empowered to ensure parliament's actions comply with Islamic principles.

Prominent Iranian reformist MP Mohsen Mirdamadi accused Tehran's hardliners of staging a "coup d'etat" by "non-military means".

"If this decision is upheld, there will not be elections but designations," he said.

Two other senior members of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Behzad Nabavi and Fatemeh Haqiqatjou, and well-known womens' rights activist Elaheh Koulaiee, have also been told they cannot stand.

The BBC's Jim Muir, in Tehran, says President Khatami is under pressure from reformers to resign if appeals against the council's decision fail.

Iran's parliament - the Majlis - is dominated by the reformists who have won all major national elections since 1997.

But it is the 12-member Guardian Council, a highly conservative body, that has the power to decide who can and cannot stand for public office - a power parliament has tried and failed to end.

The council is under pressure from right-wing quarters not to back down and allow another reformist-dominated parliament to emerge, our correspondent says.

No official announcement has been made about the exact number of disqualifications as would-be candidates are being informed individually.

But local press reports said that just over half the people who presented themselves in the Tehran constituency have been turned down.

The Speaker of parliament, Mehdi Karroubi, whose application has been approved, expressed regret at the disqualifications.

He said he and President Khatami had been engaged in many contacts with the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the Council of Guardians itself and other leaders to try to avert a crisis.

President Khatami said earlier that, if there were a large number of questionable disqualifications, he would use his constitutional powers to try to redress the situation.

But those who have been turned down still have the right to appeal to the Guardian Council itself, so the final list of candidates will not actually be known until early February.

[FormerACLUmember]

The Axis of Evil mad mullahs just delivered a (temporary) blow against the war on terror.

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[FormerACLUmember]

bttt

[livius]

How? This sounds like they're planning on reinforcing their power.

[FormerACLUmember]

The reformists would get rid of the mad mullahs, al Queda, and all other support for terrorism. Hence the removal of the reformists from the Iranian ballot is a blow against President Bush's War on Terror.

[Montfort]

We have our own "Guardian Council" of unelected folks in black robes.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

This is great news. The sooner the Mullahs push this issue the sooner the country will flip and overthrow the Mullahs.

[Billthedrill]

This is eerily familiar to students of the French revolution. That one didn't end too well for the aristos...

[livius]

Oh, I see! Sorry, I thought you meant that the reformists were assisting the mad mullahs.

Sometimes, it's just hard to keep those mad mullahs straight!

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Have the reformists ever read America's Declaration of Independence?

Maybe they should hold their own national election and set up a different government.

From what I read, there's not enough room in Iran's prisons for 75% of the population.

[L`enn]

But, this gives and issue to galvanize the populace against the theocracy. May be in the long run a good thing.

[Eala]

Care to weigh in on this? ping.

[FormerACLUmember]

We have our own "Guardian Council" of unelected folks in black robes.

Our exploitative unelected mad mullah tyrants infest the 9th Circuit and sometimes 4 out of 7 in the Supreme Court.

[FormerACLUmember]

We shall see how much IslamoFascism the Iranian people can tolerate. I suspect their tolerance is about ready to crack..

[nuconvert]

Sure.
Thanks

[bert]

SNAP!!

Was that the sound of a breaking camel's back?

I think it might have been!

[nuconvert]

The Guardian Council has always decided who the people could vote for. This is nothing new. I don't understand the "outrage" from reformists. Did they all just crawl out from under a rock? Hmmmm......well, yes they did, but you know what I mean....... I suppose the "outrage" is a ploy to get votes. (I'm shocked, shocked that there's gambling going on...") Still, if it makes the news, GOOD.

[FormerACLUmember]

I suspect that the CIA is busy in Iraqn these days.

[DoctorZIn]

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