Motahari: Khalighi Can Enter Parliament with a Few Months Delay

Ali Motahari, a member of the Iranian Parliament from Tehran, recently commented on the case of Minoo Khalighi, the third elected representative from Isfahan, stating that the intervention of the Supreme Leader in this case could be one way to address it, and that she could even enter the Parliament with a delay. In an interview with ILNA news agency on Tuesday, May 2, he elaborated on three possible ways to handle Khalighi's case, whose votes were invalidated by the Guardian Council. Motahari mentioned: 'Aside from the first option, which is the impeachment of the minister, the possibility of an inquiry as a second solution has been raised, which I believe is unnecessary since the law is clear on this matter. The third option is for the Supreme Leader to refer this case to the dispute resolution committee.' He also pointed out that the impeachment of the Minister of Interior due to the delay in sending Khalighi's credentials to the Parliament is still being pursued legally. According to Motahari, 'When the supervisory board of Isfahan province has approved the elections in this constituency, it means final approval. Not signing the credentials of one of the elected representatives is a clear violation of the law.' He emphasized that 'they can only refuse to sign the credentials if the elections in that constituency have been annulled.' He added that 'when it is said that the elections in Isfahan have been approved by the supervisory board, it means it has been signed, and once these credentials are signed, the Ministry of Interior is obliged to send them to the Parliament.' Regarding the performance of the Ministry of Interior, he stated: 'Friends in the Ministry of Interior say that we have made our efforts but could not reach a result, and we say that this level of effort is not enough, and the credentials of this elected representative must be issued as soon as possible.' When asked whether it is possible to expect the impeachment of the Minister of Interior in this Parliament given the short time left until the end of its term, he replied: 'It may be possible to pursue the impeachment of the Minister of Interior in this Parliament, but if that does not happen, it is not a problem; because the issue can be pursued in the tenth Parliament, and in that case, the third elected representative from Isfahan can enter the Parliament with a few months delay.' Motahari had previously protested against the Guardian Council's action, calling it 'illegal' and stated that if a representative is to be removed, this should be done by the Islamic Consultative Assembly during the review of credentials, not by the Guardian Council. Regarding Khalighi's case, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also recently stated, referencing the Constitution, that 'only the Parliament can review the credentials of representatives, and no other institution can interfere in that.' Minoo Khalighi was elected in the first round of the recent parliamentary elections in Isfahan and was introduced as the elected representative of the city. However, after a while, despite the approval of the elections in Isfahan by the Guardian Council, Siamak Rahpeyk, the spokesperson for the Central Supervisory Board on Elections, announced that Khalighi's votes were 'invalidated.'