Approval of 166 Candidates for the Assembly of Experts Elections; Women Left Behind

According to reports, out of 636 candidates for the Iranian Assembly of Experts elections, only 166 candidates have been approved. ILNA news agency also reports that none of the female candidates have been approved for this assembly. Ali Pourali Motlagh, the secretary of the election headquarters, had previously announced that 16 women had registered to participate in the Assembly of Experts elections. Nejatollah Ebrahimiann, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, stated on Saturday, January 8, that his 'interpretation' of the 'behavior of the jurists of the Guardian Council' is that when women were invited for the qualification test, it means that the possibility of meeting the other conditions also exists. It is unclear how many female candidates were invited for the jurisprudential exam of the Assembly. In previous terms of the Assembly of Experts, no women have participated, and in none of the four rounds of the elections, has any woman been put forward for election. Meanwhile, Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the Assembly of Experts, criticized the registration of 800 candidates for 88 seats in the Assembly, including the registration of some 'badly veiled women,' emphasizing that 'there are other hidden agendas behind these registrations.' The qualification of 373 candidates from the remaining 636 candidates is under review. Meanwhile, Siamak Rah-Peik, spokesman for the Central Supervisory Board on Elections, announced that out of 794 candidates for the Assembly of Experts elections, 158 have withdrawn. Considering this data, 636 candidates remain in the elections. However, according to Mr. Rah-Peik, 111 candidates were 'unauthorized,' and 152 candidates did not participate in the written exam, bringing the total of withdrawals, unauthorized, and absentees to 421. Mr. Rah-Peik did not clarify the meaning of 'unauthorized' for some candidates of the Assembly of Experts elections. The spokesman for the Central Supervisory Board on Elections stated that ultimately the qualifications of 373 candidates were 'reviewed,' of which the qualifications of 207 were rejected and 166 were approved. According to Mr. Rah-Peik, the qualifications of 45 percent of the candidates whose qualifications were reviewed were approved. Mr. Rah-Peik's statements regarding the non-review of the qualifications of candidates who did not participate in the Assembly of Experts exam come while Nejatollah Ebrahimiann, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, in his latest remarks stated that the qualifications of candidates who did not participate in the Assembly of Experts exam might be 'established,' but the absence of candidates who do not meet the 'scientific level' required by the jurists of the Guardian Council 'deprives them of the tools to establish their jurisprudence.' Several prominent figures, including Hassan Khomeini, did not participate in the Assembly of Experts exam. The Ministry of Interior and the Guardian Council have not yet officially published the names of those rejected or approved. However, the Tabnak website, while publishing the names of several approved and rejected candidates, announced that Hassan Khomeini, Mohammad Mousavi Bejnourdi, Hassan Khomeini's father-in-law and a student of Ayatollah Khomeini, Majid Ansari, the parliamentary deputy of the president, and Morteza Aghatehrani, the secretary-general of the Stability Front, are among those who have been rejected. According to this website, the qualification of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, has been approved. Mr. Rah-Peik also stated on Tuesday that in the previous Assembly of Experts, the qualifications of 146 people were approved and 219 were rejected, and in the previous term (the third term), the qualifications of 160 people were approved and 215 were rejected. He announced that those rejected have three days to submit their complaints to the Guardian Council. The rejection of candidates for the Assembly of Experts elections continues amid protests against the disqualification of candidates. Meanwhile, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, announced on Tuesday that Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, has had 'informal contacts with all those who have been influential in the issue of disqualifications, and of course, the government hopes for the fairness of the Guardian Council.' According to Tasnim news agency, he added: 'However, the government wants those who have been approved by the four relevant authorities to have the opportunity to serve.' The government spokesman emphasized that the executive boards affiliated with the Ministry of Interior have 'implemented the law' in reviewing qualifications. While the executive boards, affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, approved 10,954 candidates and rejected 814 candidates, which is about seven percent of the candidates, according to Nejatollah Ebrahimiann, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, only the qualifications of 'about 40 percent' of candidates have been approved by the supervisory boards, affiliated with the Guardian Council. Hassan Rouhani stated on February 1 in response to the disqualification of a large number of candidates for the Assembly elections, which he said their supporters number up to ten million, that 'the Assembly is the house of the nation, not a faction.' These remarks provoked a strong reaction from Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Kayhan newspaper, several Friday prayer leaders including in Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan, the clerical faction in the Assembly, and representatives of the Stability Front in the Assembly. Meanwhile, the government spokesman, in response to these criticisms, stated that the supervisory boards were 'considered' by Mr. Rouhani, not the Guardian Council, and 'it is not logical to equate the Guardian Council and the supervisory boards.' Members of the Central Supervisory Board on Elections are appointed by the Guardian Council, and after the qualifications of candidates are reviewed by this board, candidates can appeal to the Guardian Council, which will ultimately decide on the approval of candidates' qualifications.