Motahari: Jannati's Explanation Regarding Khaleqi's Votes is Contradictory and Against the Law

Ali Motahari, in a letter addressed to Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, deemed his explanations and statements regarding the annulment of the votes for Mino Khaleqi, the third elected representative from Isfahan, as 'contradictory and against the law.' This elected representative of the tenth parliament responded in this letter, published on his Telegram channel, to Jannati's remarks made two days prior about the annulment of Khaleqi's votes. According to Motahari, even if 'hypothetically,' the Guardian Council had the right to reject the qualification of an elected representative after 'the people's valid vote,' how could the Council ascertain a person's disbelief and practical commitment to Islam and the Islamic Republic based on 'a few suspicious photos'? On Wednesday, May 22, Jannati stated that the reason for the annulment of some candidates' votes was the acquisition of new documents and their disqualification, asserting that 'the Guardian Council's supervisory oversight is general and at all stages.' He mentioned that this action has precedent concerning an individual whose educational credentials were found to be invalid after winning the vote, leading to the annulment of that election by the Guardian Council. In his letter, Motahari pointed out that 'the Guardian Council did not annul the elections in Isfahan but rather rejected the qualification of an elected representative after the people's valid vote.' Mino Khaleqi managed to secure the third position in the tenth parliamentary elections with the votes of Isfahan's people, but the Guardian Council announced that it had annulled her votes, and the Ministry of Interior refused to issue her credentials. The main reason for the Guardian Council's annulment of Khaleqi's votes was the publication of photos of her without a hijab. Recently, one of the administrators of the Telegram channel that first published these photos was arrested. Motahari, representing Tehran in the tenth parliamentary elections, further emphasized that 'the general supervisory oversight at all stages of the elections' by the Guardian Council, which he stated is 'the essence of Article 3 of the Election Law, cannot contradict other articles of the Election Law.' According to Motahari's reasoning, 'the Guardian Council has no right to change the qualification of a candidate after the initial approval, and if it has done so in the past, it was against the law.' This parliament member, referencing Article 73 of the Election Law, stressed that 'the Guardian Council can only refuse to sign the credentials of an elected representative if the elections in a constituency have been annulled.' However, according to Motahari, 'in the matter at hand, the Guardian Council has approved the elections in the Isfahan constituency, which amounts to signing the credentials of all elected representatives from Isfahan, and the Minister of Interior must also sign and send Ms. Khaleqi's credentials to the parliament.' He believes that the Guardian Council must present its documents regarding Mino Khaleqi, which it obtained after her election or did not review for any reason, to the parliament so that the representatives can consider them when approving or rejecting the credentials. With the same reasoning, Motahari emphasized: 'Therefore, the Guardian Council has no right to interfere in this matter, and supervisory oversight cannot contradict the provisions of the Election Law or other ordinary laws.' He addressed Jannati's statement that 'some claim that after the voting, only the parliament can refuse to approve the credentials of an unqualified individual,' clarifying that 'this is not a claim but a clear and explicit provision of the Election Law and the internal regulations of the parliament. Secondly, your assertion that 'the individual is unqualified' is your claim, and the qualification or disqualification of that individual must be determined by the parliament during the review of their credentials.' Motahari also referred to another part of Jannati's remarks, where he stated that 'the parliament is a place for bargaining and trade,' describing this statement as 'an insult to the parliament and indicative of the weakness of the Guardian Council,' which, according to him, 'has approved the qualification of individuals who are engaged in bargaining and trade.' Motahari does not consider the pursuit of the annulment of Mino Khaleqi's votes as 'a personal issue' but rather declares his goal in this pursuit as 'preventing a wrong precedent in the Islamic Republic.' Hassan Rouhani and other government officials have repeatedly stated that they consider Mino Khaleqi among the representatives of the tenth parliament. Khaleqi was also invited and attended a dinner hosted by Rouhani for the elected representatives of the tenth parliament at the Presidential Office. Following the disagreement between the government and the Guardian Council, the determination of Ms. Khaleqi's status has been referred to the High Council for Resolving Differences and Regulating the Relations of the Three Powers, which has announced that it will soon present its opinion on this case to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.