Iran council not to reverse decision: Reformers threaten to quit over disqualification
TEHRAN, Jan 13: Iran's electoral vetting body has vowed it will not give in to protests over its move to disqualify massive number of reformists from contesting next month's parliamentary elections.
"The Guardians Council is doing its legal and religious duty and will not back down in the face of pressure and fuss," Mohammad Jahromi, spokesman for the Surveillance Commission, the body that drew up the controversial candidate blacklist, told the state news agency IRNA.
The Surveillance Commission is attached to the Guardians Council, a 12-member body charged with screening all legislation and vetting candidates for public office.
"People do not want corrupt people, hooligans and those who do not believe in Islam to be candidates," Mr Jahromi said, backing up the disqualification of thousands hoping to stand in the Feb 20 elections.
Nevertheless, he said that of the 3,605 disqualified people out of the 8,157 who registered to stand as MPs, some 1,500 would have their cases examined more closely.
KHATAMI'S THREAT: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami warned on Tuesday that all reformist figures in the country, including him and his government, would resign unless powerful conservatives back down over barring thousands of reformers from standing in forthcoming parliamentary elections.
"We will leave together (or) we will stay together. We have to remain firm. If one day we are asked to leave, then we will all leave, together," the president was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
Earlier, a dozen top Iranian government officials said they were ready to quit if conservatives do not overturn a decision barring hundreds of reformists from running in parliamentary elections, reformist MPs said.
The list of those prepared to resign included four of Iran's six vice-presidents, six ministers and two lower-ranking officials, the MPs told Reuters.The threat raised the stakes in the struggle between conservatives and reformists.
Reformist MP Mohsen Armin said legislators protesting the vetting of candidates had told the government officials to wait for the result of an appeal process before resigning. "But if we feel that there is no legal solution then they will resign," he said. Asked about the possible resignations, government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh said: "I don't know about it. It's a decision for each individual minister."
Around 80 reformist MPs took their sit-in protest at parliament into a third night on Tuesday evening. The MPs said they would stay until the Guardians' Council backed down.
Vice-President Mohammad Satarifar said the government may as well resign if it could not guarantee a fair election. State governors have also threatened to quit.
Conservative MPs issued a statement describing the process of vetting candidates as a legal, normal, and wise issue. "Disqualifying those who do not qualify to serve as the nation's representatives is not a violation of people's rights, it safeguards their rights," they said. Many of those excluded were accused of showing insufficient commitment to Islam and Iran's system of clerical rule.-Reuters/AFP
