GOVERNMENT, GUARDIANS CLASHES OVER GOLESTAN BY ELECTIONS
TEHRAN 18 Nov. (IPS) The Government and the Council of Guardian (CG) clashed again over the mass rejection by the leader-controlled CG of almost all reformist candidates to the by-elections in the north-eastern Province of Golestan.
As the reformists-dominated Government of the powerless President Mohammad Khatami called Sunday on the powerful electoral watchdog to "reconsider" its decision to reject the eligibility of 55 pro-reforms candidates to the elections, a reformist’s tenor accused the leader-controlled body of "excluding" their candidates.
Vice-President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Hojjatoleslam Mohammad-Ali Abtahi Sunday voiced the government's call to the Guardians Council (GC) to reconsider its decision on rejecting candidates for Golestan province Majles by-elections, and to have their eligibility approved, the official news agency IRNA said.
Seven seat at the 290-members Iranian unicameral parliament became vacant after all deputies from the Golestan Province were killed on 17 May when their airplane, which was also carrying the nation's then Transport minister Rahman Dadman, crashed, due to stormy weather.
The leader-controlled GC that wets all candidates for all elections in the Islamic Republic rejected 55 candidates who intended to run in the 30 November by-election to fill the empty seats.
As Mr. Abtahi voiced government’s opposition to "selecting" candidates and warned that if the CG maintains its decision, disqualified candidates would get into the Majles, Mr. Behzad Nabavi accused the guardians of "excluding" their candidates for an upcoming by-election which they threatened to boycott.
"Unfortunately, the Guardians Council dismissed a large number of reformist candidates on the grounds of a lack of commitment to the regime, the constitution and the supreme leader", Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, Mr. Nabavi, a reformist MM (Member of the Majles) told the House on Sunday.
Nabavi, who is one of the leaders of the Mojahedeens of the Islamic Revolution’s Organisation (MIRO) threatened of boycotting the by-elections.
"If reformist candidates are turned down, the population will be disappointed and might abstain on election day", he told the Majles.
"Reformist groups and candidates will walk out and the turnout will drop drastically", he added, warning that "If the current situation does not change, and if the council insists on its refusal, the legitimacy of the regime and national interest will be seriously threatened".
Rejecting vehemently the accusations and defending the CG decision, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a former Judiciary Head and a powerful member of the Council on Friday said decisions reached by the 12-members CG are all based on laws and on Constitution and "nothing else".
The Guardians main task is to make sure that all laws passed by the reformist-dominated Majles are in strict conformity with Islamic Canons, the Shari’a, the basis of Iranian laws and Constitution.
But reformers accuses the Council on acting on political considerations, blocking reformists candidates in various elections, as well as the majority of their progressive laws voted for by parliament, notably on liberalising the nation's strict press code, facilitating foreign investments and defining political crimes.
That kind of clashes between the embattled Government and the powerful Council of Guardians are not new, the last and most dramatic one happened during last Legislative elections when the Guardians had disqualified several reformists candidates for the Capital in order to replace them with conservatives nominees, including the former president, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who suffered a humiliating defeat.
The rejection of the reformist candidates has in recent days sparked tension in Golestan and notably in its capital, Gorgan, where numerous gatherings and protests have taken place.
The candidates, whose eligibility were rejected, have come to Tehran for meetings and talks with leading members of the reform camp, including parliament Speaker, Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karubi.
Reformers have also in recent days been warning against the "risks of tension" in this north-eastern province in case the Guardians Council does not reconsider its ruling.
On Friday and early Saturday, some 200 people gathered in front of the homes of local clerical officials and the Governor’s Office in Gorgan to protest against what they call the "ostracism" of reformist candidates by the nation's conservatives.
Majles deputies approved Sunday a double urgency bill to declare abiding by the decision of the GC in disqualifying the reformist candidates, "unless it complies with related election laws, as not binding".
The deputies proposing the bill argued there are several ambiguities in current election laws for screening nominees that "trample on the rights of both electors and the elected" and which harm national security and the Islamic establishment, IRNA reported.
Mr. Abtahi also announced that the government has commissioned a committee, in which he was a member, to discuss with the CG to have the disqualification of Golestan Majles candidates reviewed. "The government is awaiting a response from the Guardians", he added. ENDS GOLESTAN BY ELECTIONS 181101