Minister of Intelligence: Participation in an Election Campaign of a Candidate is Not Considered Sedition

The Iranian Minister of Intelligence states that 'playing a role in the 2009 sedition' is one of the red lines for approving candidates for the parliamentary elections, and sedition elements will be disqualified. Mahmoud Alavi, on Tuesday, September 2, discussed the topic of candidate approval in a televised program on the state television of Iran, emphasizing the disqualification of 'sedition elements' and outlining the criteria of this ministry regarding 'instances of sedition.' In the official language of the Iranian government, the term 'sedition' is used to refer to the protests of 2009, and activists of those protests are referred to as 'seditionists' or 'sedition elements.' However, the Minister of Intelligence in the eleventh government emphasized that 'individuals are not considered seditionists merely for having voted for a specific person or for having worked in a candidate's campaign headquarters.' Mahmoud Alavi further stated that 'participation in gatherings, norm violations, assaults on security forces, and creating security challenges for the regime' are among the criteria for disqualification, adding that 'those who have engaged in anti-security actions against the regime will be disqualified as sedition elements.' The statements of the Minister of Intelligence come despite the fact that Alavi himself was disqualified twice during the elections for the ninth parliament and the mid-term elections of that parliament while he was also a member of the Assembly of Experts representing the people of Tehran. Alavi, who has a background as a representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Republic Army, stated in an interview with ILNA news agency in March 2012 that his disqualification by the Guardian Council was based on Article 28, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which refers to 'lack of practical commitment' to Islam and the regime. This issue was also raised by opposing representatives during the consideration of Alavi's qualifications in the parliament as the proposed Minister of Intelligence. Meanwhile, despite the explanations of the Iranian Minister of Intelligence regarding the instances of sedition, some representatives insisted on withholding confidence from several of Hassan Rouhani's proposed ministers due to their 'involvement in sedition,' and several proposed candidates for the Ministry of Science failed to gain parliamentary approval. As the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections approach, warnings about the potential disqualification of reformist figures have been raised. Less than two weeks ago, Mohammad Reza Aref and Mohammad Reza Khatami, two prominent reformist figures, in separate speeches emphasized the united presence of reformists in the upcoming elections while warning about the possibility of disqualification of reformist figures. Mohammad Reza Khatami, the Deputy Speaker of the Sixth Parliament, predicted that due to the nature of the qualifications, 'a significant portion of reformist candidates' would face difficulties entering the elections. Mohammad Reza Aref, the First Vice President of Mohammad Khatami's second cabinet, also warned that 'extremist rivals' would use 'worn-out methods of accusations' to eliminate reformists from the field, but at the same time stated that the era of using such methods has ended and 'they cannot eliminate reformists.' Aref had previously reacted in early August to the threat of disqualification of reformist candidates in the March 2016 parliamentary elections, stating that reformists must show they do not retreat in the face of such threats. These statements came after Mohammad Javad Karimi Qodosi, a conservative parliament member, claimed in an interview with Tasnim news agency that 'reformist parties and figures' are 'the red line of the Guardian Council' in the upcoming elections, adding that 'any reformist who has participated in the 2009 sedition in any way, including presence, role, behavior, and background, will be seriously investigated.' The possibility of the presence of figures close to reformists in the upcoming parliamentary elections was also reflected in recent statements by Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, who, while defending the Guardian Council, urged it to 'stand firm on the issue of elections.' Larijani implicitly referred to the announcement of the activities of the 'Party of the Iranian Islamic Nation,' composed of figures close to the Participation Front, stating that 'some who were seditionists during the 2009 sedition and some of whom have been convicted, have now come to change their appearance and form parties to enter the scene.' The tenth parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in March of this year, and according to the Iranian Constitution, the Guardian Council is responsible for overseeing them. However, the Guardian Council has effectively opened the door for disqualifying candidates in elections through its interpretation of oversight as 'supervisory oversight.' Nevertheless, this supervisory oversight has its critics, including Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, who recently stated that the Guardian Council is 'a supervisor, not an executor,' and 'the one who should say whether a person is qualified to participate in elections or not is the executive committee.'