TEHRAN, Nov 21: Iran’s reform-majority parliament on Wednesday decided to postpone by-elections slated for November 30 following the wholesale invalidation of reformist candidates by a conservative watchdog.

“The by-elections have been postponed until the fate of those candidates which have been declared ineligible in Golestan province is determined,” parliament ruled.

The move came the day after parliament challenged the authority of the powerful conservative Guardians Council with an amendment to the electoral law seeking to circumscribe the body’s powers to exclude candidates.

“If the rejection of candidates for the legislative elections is justified by considerations other than those strictly foreseen in the electoral law, there is no need to abide by it,” Tuesday’s amendment read.

But the amendment itself was promptly rejected on Tuesday by the Guardians, who also rule on the validity of proposed legislation.

More than a hundred candidacies, mainly reformist, have been filed for the Golestan elections in northwest Iran, where seven seats are at stake, but 55 were rejected by the Guardians Council, according to the state news agency IRNA.

The seats were left vacant after seven MPs were killed earlier this year when their aeroplane, which was also carrying the nation’s then transport minister Rahman Dadman.

Parliament also demanded on Wednesday that the eligibility of each candidate be accepted or rejected by at least two-thirds of the 12-member oversight council.—AFP