"The Islamic regime intends by this way to cut the population's link with opposition sources located abroad and is hoping to bring more voters to its ballot boxes."
Why can't they see how ludicrous this is? Everyone inside and outside the country knows what's going on. They don't have secrecy like they used to. They're exposed.
Hey! Khamenei! The emperor has No Clothes!
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran began the seventh parliamentary elections on Friday, in which some 4,737 qualified candidates will run for 290 seats of the seventh Majlis (parliament).
Political parties and groups appeared in Iran after World War Two, but most of them were gradually dissolved or outlawed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In 1988, Iran issued the Parties Law,which allowed the activities of political parties and groups on conditions that they should register with and obtain permission from the Interior Ministry. Until January 2002, registered partiesand groups amounted to more than 110.
Following is some information about Iran's major political parties.
League of Combatant Clerics, a pro-reform league led by the incumbent Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karrubi, emerged from the Assembly of Combatant Clergy and was formally established in 1987.Most of its members are religious and political celebrities.
The Islamic Iran Participation Front, the biggest party of Iranand the main reformist group led by President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's brother Mohammed Reza, was established in 1998. Its members come from the government and the cultural circle. The party has decided to boycott the poll after all its candidates were barred from contesting.
Party of Constructive Executives of Iran, a centralist camp led by former Tehran Mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi, comprises political celebrities and has branches in most of Iran's major cities. It advocates safeguarding the Islamic dignity, securing the state power's double natures of Islam and republic as well as supports the economic construction.
Abadgaran Iran-e-Islami, or Developers of Islamic Iran, is a conservative coalition led by parliament member Gholamali Haddadadel. The party has tried to soften its hard-line image by giving promises of pushing forward economic progress
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/20/content_1323919.htm Comment: the ballot boxes have now been opened since 6.30 local time, that is 2 hours ago. Any guess on the outcome?