Rouhani slams removal of candidates from elections

tehran — Iran’s president on Wednesday slammed the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Although hard-liners were among those disqualified by the powerful Guardian Council, most of those rejected were reformist and moderate candidates, according to Tehran’s reformist newspaper Etemad.

President Hassan Rouhani appeared to confirm this in his stinging critique of the council, which barred more than 9,000 from the over 14,000 people who had registered to run. Among them are 90 sitting lawmakers out of some 247 who registered to run for re-election.

Rouhani said it is not possible to run the country with just one faction in power.

“Do not tell the people that for every seat in parliament, there are 17, 170 or 1,700 candidates running in the election,” he said. “Seventeen-hundred candidates from how many factions? Seventeen candidates from how many parties? From one party? This is not an election.”

Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei criticized Rouhani’s remarks. In a tweet, he said that controversy around the vetting of candidates is nothing new, “but the president’s initiation of this anti-national project is regrettable.” —

Do not tell the people that for every seat, there are 17, 170 or 1,700 candidates. Seventeen hundred candidates from how many factions? Seventeen candidates from how many parties? From one party? This is not an election Hassan Rouhani

Iran President