Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Rejects Presidential Powers Bill

The Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran has rejected a bill that would have granted more powers to President Mohammad Khatami. The Guardian Council, which approves or disapproves all laws passed by the parliament, stated that the bill in question is inconsistent with both Islamic laws and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic. If this bill had been approved, it would have given the President the authority to annul rulings of the Islamic Republic's judiciary even if they contradicted the country's Constitution. The rejection of this bill represents another setback for Mr. Khatami and the reformists in Iran who have been advocating for greater political and press freedoms. Last month, the Guardian Council also rejected another bill that would have limited its powers regarding the approval or disapproval of election candidates. Conservative religious figures in the Islamic Republic have exploited their control over institutions such as the judiciary and the Guardian Council since Mr. Khatami's election to the presidency in 1997 to prevent the passage of numerous reformist laws and to shut down around ninety reformist newspapers and magazines in Iran. A group of reformist lawmakers threatened that if the Guardian Council rejected the last bill passed by the parliament, they would resign from their parliamentary membership.