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Most Iranian candidates not reinstated
The governance crisis in Iran edged toward a climax Friday as conservative clerics refused to reinstate most of the reformist candidates who had been disqualified from next monthâs parliamentary elections.
| "Nope. Nope. Ain't gonna do it. We're in charge and you ain't." |
The Guardian Council relented on only 1,160 of the 3,600 candidates it had dismissed almost three weeks ago in what analysts termed a brazen effort to clear the field of all but conservative candidates. It was not immediately clear how many of the 80 members of parliament barred from seeking reelection had been reinstated.
| Only the ones who can be bought... cheaply. |
The apparently final decision by the council, a 12-member appointive body with authority to reject legislation as well as screen candidates, was announced on state radio and the councilâs Web site late on the Muslim day of rest. It produced no immediate official reaction, but the number of restored candidacies fell far short of the full reinstatement demanded by outraged members of parliament, who have staged daily sit-ins at the legislative chamber in central Tehran. The striking lawmakers had anticipated the councilâs limited retreat, however, and issued a statement repeating their vows to resign or otherwise disable the government, whose day-to-day functioning has been entirely in reformist hands for four years.
| Let's see if the have the danglers to actually do it... |
A leader of the largest reform party spoke of pulling out of the Feb. 20 balloting. "The council statement means there is no option left for us but to boycott this sham election," said Saeed Shariati of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, in remarks cited by the Associated Press. "As Iranâs biggest party, almost all our candidates have been barred." Shariati added, however, that an official announcement about the reformistsâ intentions would wait until Monday.
| Gonna wait and see what offers he gets over the weekend, is he? |
"A lot of it is political rhetoric," said Shirzad Bozorgnehr, a senior editor of Iran News, an independent English-language daily in Tehran, referring to the threats. "Itâs hard to discern between the talk and real decisions that will result in action." Bozorgnehr said the impact of the councilâs decision would become apparent only after reformists saw which candidates had been validated and which remained disqualified. "The problem is that right now we donât know who they are. Are the most prominent reformists restored, people who matter and who will lead? Or are they insignificant people?" he said.
| My guess is that the insignificant have the edge. What's yours? |
The council, which answers only to Iranâs top cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggested it was being generous. "Approving such a high number of parliamentary hopefuls is nearly unprecedented in the history of the Iranian parliament," it said in a statement. The council also denied a formal request to postpone the election. The request was made by Iranâs reformist interior minister, Abdolvahed Moussavi Lari, who said the mass disqualification and the controversy that followed made it impossible for the ministry to mount "a proper election." The bid followed a vow by Iranâs governors to withhold their own crucial cooperation in setting up polling places. Similar threats from other elements of the reform movement, including student leaders, are widely seen as meant to stiffen the spine of Mohammad Khatami.
| You have to let Jello sit for a really long time before it actually gets stiff... |
The reformist president, who disdains confrontation, has sought to restore the candidacies by negotiating with the Guardian Council and parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karrubi, who promised "good results."
| That was just before he became pregnant with Rafsanjani's love child... |
"To shut down the elections means to shut down democracy, and God does not want such a thing for our people," Khatami said this week after turning down the resignations of dozens of top officials incensed over the candidate bans.
Does anyone need any further proof as to whose side Khatami is on in all of this?
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-01-31 |
