Interior Ministry Reports Approval of 51% of Parliamentary Candidates

While reformist figures have announced that Hassan Rouhani's efforts to approve 270 of their candidates have been unsuccessful, the Deputy Minister of Interior stated that the approval rate for candidates in the parliamentary elections is approximately 51%, which he deemed "notable." According to the state news agency IRNA, Hossein Ali Amiri said in a press conference on Tuesday, February 20, that the Ministry of Interior provided the Guardian Council with "national and regional analyses" regarding the disqualification of parliamentary candidates, and the Guardian Council took the Ministry's "consultations and follow-ups" into account. Mr. Amiri stated that the Guardian Council approved 6,175 candidates, which is 51% of those who registered, while 5,252 candidates were disqualified. Comparing the figures announced by the Deputy Minister of Interior with the percentage of disqualified candidates in previous elections, the upcoming parliamentary elections will have the highest disqualification rate compared to previous terms. In the first parliamentary elections, 46% were disqualified, in the second 20%, in the third 19%, in the fourth 28%, in the fifth 39%, in the sixth 26%, in the seventh 44%, in the eighth 37%, and in the ninth 35% were disqualified. However, Siamak Rahpeyk, spokesman for the Central Supervisory Board on Elections, announced on February 17 that 1,500 previously disqualified candidates had been approved, increasing the approval rate from 40% of registrants to 55%. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Interior stated that among the more than 1,400 candidates approved by the Guardian Council, there are "principlists, reformists, and moderates." These statements come as some reformist figures, including Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the Reformist Policy Council, have said that while some reformist candidates were approved after consultations, the efforts to approve prominent reformist figures were unsuccessful. Ashraf Boroujerdi, head of the Assembly of Reformist Women, also told the "Nameh" website that President Hassan Rouhani's consultations for the approval of 270 disqualified candidates were fruitless. Shahabuddin Chavoshi, the political deputy of the Tehran governor, also stated in an interview with the "Etemad" newspaper that the Guardian Council has postponed the announcement of the results for the qualification of 56 candidates in the Tehran electoral district to February 27, the last legal deadline for the Council. Mr. Chavoshi expressed ignorance about the status of these candidates, noting that unofficial news suggests that some of them have been approved. Nevertheless, the Deputy Minister of Interior stated that only seven candidates remain unresolved.