Iran's Guardian Council stands by ban

Monday, 19 January 2004 12:00 AM

Iran's hardline Governing Council has defended the barring of prospective liberal candidates in next month's parliamentary elections.

Iranian hardline Islamic leaders are standing by the decision to turn down 3,000 of the 8,200 candidates for the February 20th elections, despite the intervention of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Council said many of the disqualified candidates do not meet the "necessary criteria."

Deputy Interior Minister Morteza Moballega - the man in charge of the elections - said the ban was politically inspired and warned the elections could be cancelled if the candidates were not reinstated.

He said on Saturday: "If I reach the point where I feel I can't hold elections in accordance with the law, I won't hold such elections."

Mr Moballegh said many candidates had been disqualified without any "solid legal evidence."

The Council said it would treat each candidate case by case but said all must all comply with the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic.

Iran's 27 provincial governors have also threatened to resign, and some 80 politicians have held a sit-in at the Iranian parliament for over a week.

President Mohammad Khatami slammed the Guardian Council's intransigence and said he might resign if concessions were not made.

Tags: