Khodkhodai Reiterates: Guardian Council's Opinions Before Approval of Representatives' Credentials

The spokesperson of the Guardian Council emphasized the necessity of oversight over parliamentary representatives based on the 'General Election Policies' and announced that the supervisory body must be specified in the law passed by the parliament, and this council will only express opinions about representatives until the approval of their credentials. According to the state news agency IRNA, Abbasali Khodkhodai stated on Saturday, November 8, that the Guardian Council 'has historically expressed opinions before the approval of the credentials of elected representatives, and this practice still remains.' According to Khodkhodai, clause 13 of the 'General Election Policies' specifies oversight over 'the proper execution of representative duties and monitoring the continuity of representative conditions,' but the manner of oversight is contingent upon a law that will be passed regarding this matter. He added, 'The legislator's opinion may be that oversight is conducted by an internal or external authority; for example, it may state that the judiciary or another institution will carry this out, which will be clarified in the future.' Clause 13 of the 'General Election Policies,' which was issued by the Supreme Leader at the end of October, calls for 'determining the necessary mechanisms for the proper execution of representative duties, adherence to the oath, preventing financial, economic, and moral abuses, and taking necessary actions in case of the loss or discovery of the absence of the conditions of parliamentary representation in the elected.' In this context, the spokesperson of the Guardian Council stated on November 1 that from now on, the council's 'oversight' over parliamentary representatives will be 'continuous' and will continue even after the approval of credentials. Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, also emphasized on Tuesday, November 4, that 'oversight over representatives should not be ceremonial' and expressed hope that with the implementation of the 'General Election Policies,' there would be 'better' oversight over parliamentary representatives. On the same day, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, reacted to these remarks by stating that oversight over the comments of parliamentary representatives during their term would 'eliminate their freedom and independence,' leading representatives to become 'sycophantic and obsequious.' A day after these remarks, the spokesperson of the Guardian Council denied the statements attributed to him regarding the council's oversight over representatives during their term, stating that the 'authority' for oversight over representatives has not been specified in the 'General Election Policies' and that a law must be passed regarding this. Khodkhodai also mentioned that 'logically, it is better for the mechanism of oversight over representatives' behavior to be outside the parliament.' Ali Motahari responded on Saturday to this part of Khodkhodai's remarks, stating that the Supreme Leader used the term 'self-monitoring' for oversight over parliamentary representatives in a meeting with the eighth parliament representatives, and after that, a law on oversight over representatives' behavior was passed. Iran's parliament passed a law in 2012 titled 'Parliamentary Oversight over Representatives' behavior,' based on which a 'Supervisory Board on Representatives' Behavior' is formed in each parliamentary term. Actions related to the rights of parliamentary representation, such as commenting and stating positions on domestic and foreign issues, are not subject to this law.