14 February 2004	Saturday	22 Zilhaj 1424

TEHRAN, Feb 13: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday urged Iranians to turn out in force to vote in parliamentary elections next week and thwart what he called the Islamic regime's enemies hoping for mass abstentions.

"The people, for their own sake, for that of the country and the Islamic regime, must go to vote and ensure these elections are enthusiastically backed," Khamenei told tens of thousands of the faithful who gathered for traditional Friday prayers at Tehran University.

Reformists had called for the February 20 vote to be postponed after thousands of their candidates were barred from the poll by the hardline Guardians Council.

Some reformist parties have vowed to boycott the poll, and the main student body, the Office to Consolidate Unity, has also called for a boycott. "Some people in the world, who do not want the welfare of our people, did not want these elections to be held or well supported," Khamenei said in remarks carried on state radio.

The conservatives appear virtually assured of wresting control of the Majlis from the reformists, who have dominated it for the past four years but whose legislative agenda has been routinely frustrated by the Guardians Council and other powerful conservative bodies.

Speaking against the background of a political crisis and celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, Khamenei said:

"Our enemies have done everything against the revolution and have failed. Today they are seeking to create a gulf between the people and the leaders, but these elections are a response to the enemy who will learn that the people firmly defend their country and their regime."

The supreme leader denounced some European parliaments who had criticized the barring of so many candidates. "Certain European parliaments have gone beyond the limits. If their intervention is confined to simple words, it will be unimportant ... but if these words are transformed into interference in our internal affairs, the people will given them an unforgettable lesson," he said.

"The elections are a barrier against the enemies... People should go and vote en masse so the elections are held majestically," said Khamenei. He implicitly criticized some reformers, who he said had tried to "discourage the voters, playing the game of the enemies" of the republic.

Iran's conservative newspapers have accused reformist MPs, some of whom resigned in protest at the Guardians Council's decision, of being supported by the Islamic regime's enemies

Khamenei has intervened several times in the political crisis into which Iran plunged in January after the Guardians Council's banning of candidates. He had insisted that the reformist government of President Mohammad Khatami go ahead and organize the elections.

On Friday, eight reformist parties announced they had set up a "Coalition for Iran" to contest the poll, the bloc's spokesman Ali Akbar Mohtashami-Pur said, cited by the student news agency ISNA.

The coalition said it would have 26 candidates contesting Tehran, which returns 30 MPs to parliament. The conservatives are counting on massive abstention by moderate electors to enable them to win, particularly the main cities - notably Tehran - and resume control of parliament.

Around 5,600 candidates now have one week to persuade over 46 million voters on 290 seats of parliament. -AFP