REFORMERS INSIST ON REFERENNDUM

by Safa Haeri

TEHRAN 25 Nov. (IPS) Iran's parliament on Sunday approved to halt for one month its debate on a controrversial bill which has turned to a tug-of-war between the oversight Council of Guardians and the legislative assembly, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The bill, rejected once by the Guardians, calls for amendments to the electoral law, which some MMs (Member of the Majles) hope could have the mass exclusion of parliamentary nominees for a by-election in the northern Golestan province reversed.

It was also decided at the session that the by-election in the Golestan province be postponed "until the fate of the nominees ruled as ineligible to run is decided". But sources said the electionswould be held on time, scheduled for 30 November.

Continuing their struggle against the powerful Counci of Guardians, two reformer MMs (Member of the Majes) repeated Sunday calls for a referendum as the only remaining tool to end the ongoing dispute between the Majles and the powerful Council of Guardians (CG) over the sensitive issue of elections.

The proposal was first sugested by Mr. Mohammad Reza Khatami, the leader of the Islamic Iran Participation Party (IIPP), Iran's strongest political organisation, after the leader-controlled CG rejected 55 reformist candidates, out of the one hundreds that have filed for the forthcoming by-elections in the north-eastern province of Golestan, where all deputies were killed, along with the then transport minister Rahman Dadman, in a plane crush earlier this year.

At the centre of the row are the Guardians controversial ''special rights'' that gives the 12-members body, created to wet candidates, to reject any nomminee without providing reasons as well its direct interference in electoral process, including supervising the elections.

Majles Speaker Hojjatolslam Mehdi Karroubi had criticised the Guardians for rejecting the nominees, saying the oversight body should ''stick to the law''.

"All should act according to the law and the supervisory performance of the Guardian Council should be based on the law" he said at an open session of the parliament, as reported by the official news agency IRNA.

Esfahan's deputy Mohsen Armin warned Sunday that if efforts by the parliament to clarify the qualification of the candidates for the Goletan by-election yield no result, Maajles will have no other alternative than to look at the feasibility of holding a referendum.

To diffuse the situation, reformist deputies adopted several ''urgent'' motions to amend electora laws aimed at restricting CG's control, but were all rejected by the Guardians that must verify that all laws passed by the House are in full conformity with Islamic canons.

In a dramatic move, the Majles then passed another motion with three urgencies calling on the Assembly to Discern States Interests (ADIS) for arbitration between Majles and the CG, knowing well that the advisory body that is led by the former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar hashemi-Rafsanjani woud either reject the offer or take the side of the Guardians.

Majles Speaker Hojjatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi hoped that the ADIS would soon examine the rejected bill which was given an unprecedented triple-urgency reading in the parliament this week.

Armin, who is Deputy Majlis Speaker and a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Affairs Commission, said that the ADIS will approve the Majlis's bill for incorporating three amendments to Article 52 of the election laws.

Quoted by IRNA, Mr. Armin said that if the ADIS rejects the Majlis bill then the body has acted against its earlier decisions, and added that in that case, the ADIS should clearly explain to the public its logic for such a step

''If the bill is rejected by the ADIS, then there is no alternative but to hold a referendum'', he said, adding: ''Because the parliament is strictly a body for enacting laws and can only maneuver within the framework of the law''.

He added that the Majlis will do all in its power to carry out its legal rights.

Mr. Armin, an influential member of the Mojahedeen of the Islamic Revolution that makes the strongest party to the pro-reform Secod Khordad Coalition also referred to the responsibilities of the Sixth Majlis and its commitment to carry out its duties as pledged to the people.

''In addition, Majlis has a clear framework in the law to follow up on its duties'', he was quoted by the pro-government IRNA.

However, Dr. Khatami, who is also the Vice-Speaker of the reformers-dominated Majles here Sunday said any referendum on the election process must be held once the required ground has been created, and stressed that such referendum can never take place overnight.

Mr. Khatami, a younger brother of the embattled President, said a referendum on the upcoming Majlis by-elections for the Golestan province is ''ineffective'' and reiterated that people must make a final decision on the repeated disqualifications of election nominees carried out on a selective and unconstitutional basis.

Rejection of the law will only mean that the problem is not a legal one, but it will indicate that ''We are faced with a political problem''.

''The formation of an arbitrative board...was contrary to the Constitution which enshrine the authorities of the three powers and the ADIS as well as their independence'', the Guardian's spokesman Hojjatoleslam Ebrahim Azizi was cited as saying.

Mr. Behzad Nabavi

, another influential MM had warned last week of the ''negative'' consequences of a mass disqualification of nominees for the upcogming parliamentary by-election in Golestan province and had treatened ofpossible boycott of the elections by the reformers.

''If the status quo does not change, the remaining reformist groups and parties will probably pull out of the elections. This will naturally lead to a low turnout in the election'', Mr. Nabavi said.MAJLES CG DISPUTE 251101