Iran GC signal green light to disqualified reformists

Iran’s election and legislation supervisory body, the Guardian Council, has given the green light to disqualified reformist candidates applying to participate in the upcoming presidential elections.

On Sunday, the Guardians Council released a list of six mostly conservative presidential candidates, which excluded Moin and Mehralizadeh.

The disqualification drew sharp criticism both at home and abroad. Terming the move as a coup d’etat, the country’s reformist camp threatened to boycott the elections.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday urged the Guardians Council to revise the disqualification of former minister of science, research and technology, Mostafa Moin, and Vice President Mohsen Mehralizadeh. The leader’s directive was in response to a request made by Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel in this regard.

It is believed that Khamenei called for reconsidering the disqualification out of fear that the turnout might be low, which would in turn mar the legitimacy of the vote.

“As you consider it desirable that all people in the country from different interests have the opportunity to take part in the presidential election, the competence of Mr. Moin and Mr. Mehralizadeh by the Guardian Council is recognized,” Ahmad Jannati, head of the body, was quoted as saying in a writing reply to a call by Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei to reconsider the disqualification.

Moin, is the candidate of the reformist political party, Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF).

IIPF played a crucial role in encouraging people to go to polls in the presidential elections of 1997 and 2001 in which President Mohammad Khatami gained a landslide victory against conservative rivals.

Iran’s 9th presidential elections are scheduled on June 17, and registration of candidates was held from May 10 to 14, during which more than 1,000 people registered to participate in the elections.

The incumbent President Mohammad Khatami is ruled out from the race because the law bans anyone to run for a consecutive third term.

After disqualification of Mostafa Moin, reformers candidate for the 9th presidential election, by Guardians Council(GC), Tehran University dormitory witnessed unrest for a couple of hours.

Around 300 students started a march from the dormitory compound that was halted with the intervention of police and they were returned to the university compound.

In order to prevent further social unrest, the speakers of dormitory declared several times that the qualification of Dr. Moin has been objected by the Supreme Leader, and that the Guardians Council has been guided to revise that decision.

During the student gathering, one of the main roads to the compound was blocked by the police and the law enforcement forces tool control the traffic inside and outside the dormitory.

An informed source in Interior Ministry told to IRNA that the Interior Minister had asked the police forces to do not confront students.

Tabriz MP Akbar Alami, whose presidential nomination was disqualified by the Guardians Council, in a statement on Monday threatened to expose the council’s wrongdoing.

Alami said if the GC can prove that he and other reformist candidates do not qualify to run for president and are not political-religious dignitaries, he will abandon all political activities and resign as member of parliament.

“But if the GC cannot present convincing reasons for the disqualifications, then we reserve the right to expose the wrongdoing of the people who influence the council’s decision-makings,” he said.

Alami further said, “In order to uphold the rights of candidates who have been disqualified, I officially urge the GC members and all those who think they know the yardstick for choosing between good and evil to participate in a debate and convince the public that their criteria for rejecting candidates are correct.”