Iran's reformist interior minister has ordered the closure of offices set up by hardliners to screen candidates for next year's legislative elections. Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari on Saturday instructed all provincial governors to stop the operations of the supervisory offices set up by the hardline Guardian Council throughout the country, the government-run daily Iran reported Sunday. "Activities of the supervising offices of the Guardian Council are a violation of the law because they have not been approved by the Supreme Administrative Council nor the Parliament. There is no legal basis for such offices, Lari was quoted as saying.
Interior Ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani contacted by The Associated Press Sunday, confirmed the report. Elections are planned in February. The hardline Guardian Council and the Interior Ministry in the elected administration of the reformist President Mohammad Khatami, responsible for holding the elections, have previously had a tug-of-war over the list of candidates for elections. The council — key members of which are hand-picked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — has quietly been establishing the candidate review offices in recent months. Having offices across the country would allow the council to learn the views of would-be candidates. Members of the Guardian Council have vowed they would reject reformist candidates who seek profound changes. |