Ruhollah Khomeini's grandson Ali Eshraghi, 39, said last week he had been disqualified after officials questioned his neighbours about him.
Candidates are vetted to check loyalty to Iran's Islamic revolutionary system. The main vetting body said it had reinstated 280 out of more than 2,200 mainly reformist banned candidates.
Altogether 7,168 candidates have been registered to stand.
Iranian media published the names of the candidates, following the Guardians Council's decision on Tuesday.
But correspondents say many prominent reformists remain disqualified, and officials have hinted that more candidates could be excluded.
The vetting process will continue for several weeks and the final list of approved candidates will be announced on 5 March, with the vote held on 14 March.
Reformists were defeated in 2004 after hundreds of such disqualifications.
The council, a hardline unelected body, has the final say over who can stand.
Ayatollah Khomeini, who died in 1989, became Iran's first Supreme Leader after the 1979 Islamic revolution and instituted the current clerically-led system.
4 comments:
but why?!
I think that this most recent development is interesting in context with the last article posted. After interrogating his neighbors earlier this month, on issues ranging from his religious dedication to the car he drives, it was determined by the Guardians’ Council that Ali Eshraghi would not be able to run for parliamentary elections. The supposed rationale for this decision was that Eshraghi had somehow violated the “strict rules for candidates in the first phase of voting” as proscribed by the constitution (in other words, he had not shown sufficient loyalty to the principles of the 1979 revolution). One of about 2,000 reformist candidates to initially be excluded from running, Eshraghi, along with 280 others from this initial set, was reinstated as of yesterday. More than anything, I think that this move can be seen as a political stunt by the Guardians’ Council. By permitting a few high-profile candidates back into the race, the council hopes to instill some goodwill in the general public, especially among those disgruntled reformists who are witnessing a majority of their candidates excluded. But these nearly 300 reinstatements clearly do not go far enough in illustrating the desire on the part of the Guardian’s Council for fair and democratic elections and discontent will be inevitable. The conservatives in Iran will continue to hold on to the majority in the Majlis and there will be little alternative presented to the voters. One possible solution for the reformists is to launch a boycott of the election in order to underscore the importance of political diversity in this supposed democracy. Otherwise reformists will simply choose from the handful of approved candidates presented to them and accept their minority position in the legislature.
In response to Zachary's comment:
i very much agree with you final point and would like to add on to it. I think that the guardian council is "throwing a bone" to reformists with this move. They are allowing them a small victory to keep them at bay (temporarily at least). I liken what the guardian council is currently doing (loosely I might add) to actions the united states supreme court took during the civil rights movement. They will be reluctant allow for additional concessions to the reformists but I think when push comes to shove, if the country finds itself once again on the brink of revolution they will rise to the occasion. Perhaps the first message that reformists could send that would show how serious they are would be to boycott the upcoming elections. At least that would grab the attention of the council...
Talking to Persian friends and reading articles about social life in Iran, I feel as though a broad popular sentiment of, to put it euphemistically, discomfort exists toward the current regime. It seems as though a sizeable bulk of the public, especially the young adults that are so prominent among the young population, are generally pushing for a liberalization of domestic policies. The two thousand reformist political contenders who were expelled from potential election clearly attest to the reality of this trend in Iran. The current government realizes the existence of this general trend among the public, and I feel that in concession, they will continue to sparingly grant these reformists more voice. So, if any reformists are going to be granted more say, there are no candidates more reasonable than the hailed Khomeini’s grandson. Considering Khomeini was the undeniable leader of the revolution, it seems that barring a descendent of his from running for office would be quite an embarrassment to the revolutionary government.
Post a Comment