Expediency Council: Three branches must refrain from exerting power in elections

The Secretary of the Expediency Council of Iran announced that this council, while examining the issue of "interference of the three branches in elections," has approved that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches "must refrain from any form of exerting power and directing the votes of the people." According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Council, stated: "It was decided that the interference of the three branches in elections should be within the framework of the law and that these branches should avoid any form of exerting power and directing the votes of the people." According to Mr. Rezaei, this resolution was approved in the meeting of the council on Saturday, June 2, as one of the items of the "general policies of elections." The Expediency Council of Iran has been reviewing the "general policies of elections" for some time, and according to Mr. Rezaei, this review will be completed by the end of June. These policies must be approved by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, after being approved by this council. The examination of the "interference of the three branches in elections" comes at a time when some conservative media have accused the government of Hassan Rouhani, including officials such as Eshaq Jahangiri and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, of trying to influence the upcoming parliamentary elections by participating in the meetings of the parties they belong to. Meanwhile, reports indicate that at least six members of the 12-member Guardian Council, which is responsible for overseeing elections, supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election. Ahmad Jannati, the current Secretary of the Guardian Council, praised the "hardworking" and "active" government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the then President of Iran, on the eve of the presidential election on April 5, 2009, and warned about the coming to power of a president close to the enemy. In this context, Mohsen Esmaeili, one of the legal experts of the Guardian Council, stated on Thursday, January 11, 2015, that some members of the Guardian Council in the 2009 elections exceeded their rights as judges and "violated the law." Ali Motahari also considered the support of some members of the Guardian Council, including Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Yazdi, Mohammad Momen, and Gholamhossein Elham for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the protests over the 2009 election results as a mistake. The Secretary of the Expediency Council also announced that in the meeting on Saturday, the council discussed that candidates and parties should be prohibited from receiving support and resources from foreign countries. According to the Iranian News Agency (IRNA), Mohsen Rezaei added: "Of course, there have been discussions about this matter, but we have organized this topic as a policy and did not delve into whether such a matter existed or not." The resolution of the Expediency Council comes at a time when the Iranian parliament also approved an article in the "method of activity of parties and political groups" last week, which, if finally approved, would prohibit the establishment of "any office or branch abroad" for parties. In this context, the Minister of Interior stated: "The electoral competitions have secretly begun." Motahari again criticized the judiciary regarding the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement. Hashemi-Toroureh stated that Ahmadinejad has no plans for the parliamentary elections. Mohseni Ejei stated that Mehdi Hashemi's case is in the appeal stage.