Five-Year Ban on 'Members of Dissolved Parties' from Establishing New Parties

Iranian lawmakers voted to amend provisions of the party activity bill, which stipulates that 'effective members of dissolved parties' will be prohibited from establishing new parties for five years. The bill also indefinitely bans those convicted of security crimes from forming parties. The report from the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency on Sunday, November 1, indicated that representatives discussed the party activity bill, which had been returned from the Guardian Council to the parliament. This bill had previously been on the agenda in July but was put on hold for three months after a week of disputes among lawmakers. On Sunday, during the renewed review of this bill, representatives voted on a provision listing individuals banned from establishing parties. Accordingly, individuals considered 'effective members' at the time of a party's dissolution, if the dissolution was due to a crime and a court ruling, will be barred from establishing or joining a new party for five years. This bill could target effective members of two major reformist organizations, namely the 'Islamic Iran Participation Front' and the 'Revolutionary Mojahedin Organization,' both of which were dissolved by court order following the controversial June 2009 elections. However, the establishment of the 'United Front of the Iranian Nation' in recent months raised speculation that the new party was created to facilitate the activities of members from these two organizations. The establishment of the United Front of the Iranian Nation was not well received by conservatives, as most founding members of this newly established party were former members of the Participation Front. In one reaction, Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, stated that 'some individuals who were agitators during the 2009 unrest and some of whom are convicted have now changed their appearance and are forming parties to re-enter the scene.' These remarks came shortly after the first congress of the United Front of the Iranian Nation was held. The first congress took place on August 20 in Tehran, where Ali Shakouri Rad was elected as the first secretary-general of this newly established party close to reformists. However, about ten days after the congress, Shakouri Rad was arrested and later released on bail. The activities of the Participation Front and the Revolutionary Mojahedin were legally banned in June 2010, as announced by the Tehran prosecutor, and in October of that year, then Attorney General Hossein Mohseni Ejei emphasized the dissolution of these two parties. Nevertheless, more than five years have passed since Ejei's statements, meaning this clause of the party law, if finally approved, cannot prevent the establishment of a new party by former members of the Participation Front or the Revolutionary Mojahedin. However, another clause of this bill, which emphasizes the prohibition of party formation by 'those convicted of security crimes,' could permanently close the door for many reformist activists interested in political party activities. Clause 'B' of the bill passed on Sunday states that 'those convicted of crimes against the internal and external security of the country' are banned from forming and joining parties without any time limitation. Thus, if this bill is finally approved, many political activists who were arrested and tried on security charges after the controversial June 2009 elections will be deprived of party activities. Another section of the bill passed on Sunday states that, based on the assessment of security and judicial authorities, 'spies' cannot participate in parties. In clause 'P' of Article 5 of this bill, the determining authorities for the definition of espionage are listed as the 'Ministry of Intelligence,' 'IRGC Intelligence Organization,' and 'judicial authorities.' Another clause of the same article explains that 'members of the intelligence and security apparatus of the former regime, the dissolved SAVAK, Freemasons, those who held ministerial positions or were members of the National Assembly or Senate between August 19, 1953, and February 11, 1979, effective members of the former regime and the Rastakhiz Party, and members of illegal armed and anti-revolutionary groups as determined by competent authorities' are banned from party activities. The session on Sunday, where the amendments to the party activity bill were approved, was attended by only 133 out of 203 representatives present, raising concerns about low participation. The absence of seventy representatives during the vote even drew a reaction from Hassan Abutorabi-Fard, the deputy speaker of the parliament, who reminded that 'members should announce their abstention to avoid the perception of low participation.' He added that 'the low number of participants raises doubts among the public listening to the session that representatives are not paying attention to the agenda.'