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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

Iranian Parliament Remains as Underdog as Political Brawl Turns White-heat

Tensions have been running high in Iran after the top arbitration body Expediency Council (EC) ruled in favor of the conservative watchdog Guardian Council (GC) in an electoral dispute with the reformist-dominated Majlis (parliament).


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Tensions have been running high in Iran after the top arbitration body Expediency Council (EC) ruled in favor of the conservative watchdog Guardian Council (GC) in an electoral dispute with the reformist-dominated Majlis (parliament).

At an overnight extraordinary session attended by incumbent President Mohammad Khatami and other high-ranking officials, the EC, headed by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, turned down the Majlis's bid to amend the electoral law.

In a repelling manner, the Majlis last week put forth a "triple urgency" motion, the second of its kind in the Islamic Republic's 22-year-old history, to set up an arbitration board to address disputes between itself and the GC on issues concerning the elections.

The bill was mooted after the conservatives-controlled supervisory GC disqualified 55 out of 100-plus nominees, mainly reformists, for a parliamentary by-election in the northern province of Golestan.

A total of seven seats were vacant after lawmakers from Golestan were killed in a plane crash in May along with then Transport Minister Rahman Dadman.

However, the Majlis and the GC, which has allegedly failed to provide a clear and justified explanation for the rejection of the hopefuls, bogged down into a deeper factional feud as the bill was labeled as "unconstitutional" and thus blocked by the oversight body.

The 12-member GC oversees all the laws passed by the Majlis to confirm their conformity with Islamic teachings and the Constitution.

In this regard, Majlis deputy from Fars Province Javad Etaat pointed out that "the Guardian Council has the responsibility to supervise nationwide elections. However, supervision doesn't mean that the council has the authority to interfere in such affairs."

Iran's reformists have been at odds with the GC, which is accused by reformists of being used to stand in the way of approving the qualification of candidates in various elections and passing reform laws aimed at bringing in changes to the relatively isolated country.

With the Majlis and the GC failing to see eye to eye on the issue, the EC, dominated by hard-liners to mediate in disputes between the two establishments, was called to step in as required by law.

Much to the reformists' dismay, their concerns were not addressed as the EC backed the GC.

The EC's decision means that the provincial by-election will go ahead on November 30 as scheduled, although reformers had earlier voted to postpone the polls until the fate of those "ineligible" was determined.

The official IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday that the EC's final ruling was "putting an end to a tug-of-war between the legislature and the oversight GC," while reformist lawmakers have started mulling over other options for preserving their rights.

Refusing to be underdogs, Mohsen Armin, a member of parliament from Tehran, has staked a claim that a referendum may be the only alternative left for the Majlis if efforts by the chamber to clarify the qualification of candidates yield no results.

Majlis Deputy Speaker Mohammad Reza Khatami, brother of President Khatami, while expressing hope that the EC would handle the dispute regardless of factional bickering, stressed that any referendum on the election process must be held once a required ground has been created.

The pragmatic newspaper Aftab Yazd has observed that the parliament "is under an unprecedented wave of assaults," urging President Khatami "not to stay away from political undertakings."

The Persian-language daily said that it is time for the popular president to come out of seclusion and share with the people his stance on the recent developments, instead of remaining mute on the latest brawl between the two main political rivals.

The pro-reform Iran Daily on Wednesday called on "both sides on the political divide to rein in extremists ... this will help forge understanding and unity of purpose inside the country and create the calm which is so essential to move the difficult reform process forward."




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