Out of 3,000 Reformist Candidates, Only 30 Approved

The Iran newspaper, close to the government, reported that Hossein Marashi, head of the provincial working group of the Supreme Policy Council of Reformists, stated that "out of 3,000 reformist candidates, only 30 have been approved." The newspaper wrote: "According to official and unofficial reports, all members of the National Trust Party, the Executives of Construction Party, the Unity of Iranian Nation, the Will of the Iranian Nation, the Voice of Iranians, etc., were disqualified by the election monitoring boards." The Shargh newspaper highlighted the reaction of reformists to the disqualifications, quoting Hossein Marashi as saying: "We are protesting, but we will not abandon the field." Morteza Moballegh, the political deputy of the Ministry of Interior during the reformist government and another member of this working group, also noted that "no one expected the number of disqualifications to be this high," calling it "the biggest strategic error possible by the members of the monitoring board, which has serious repercussions, and I hope the esteemed Guardian Council will rectify this error of the monitoring board members as soon as possible." The Arman newspaper described the widespread disqualification of candidates for the March 7 elections as a "shock of disqualification" and reported that Morteza Eshraqi, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, was also disqualified by the executive boards. The Etemad newspaper published President Hassan Rouhani's reaction to the disqualifications, quoting him as saying: "To preserve the rights of the disqualified candidates, I will use my powers as president." However, lawyer Bahman Keshavarz wrote in a note in Etemad that "according to constitutional principles, the Guardian Council does not fall under the division of the three branches and it seems that the presidency cannot take significant action regarding the performance of the Guardian Council." The Qanoon newspaper also wrote a note about the disqualifications, stating: "Just a few hours after the announcement of the implementation of the JCPOA, the shock of disqualifications robbed smiles from faces. While the leadership sought to hold maximum participation elections, even in an unprecedented statement, he called for the presence of those who do not even accept the 'system' and himself at the ballot boxes." This newspaper emphasized that "the outcome of the approved candidates list led the Tehran governor to say that the leader stated that even those who do not accept me should vote, but there must be someone to vote for." The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, which had previously accused the Ministry of Interior and Rouhani's government of "bulk approval" of candidates during the approval of most candidates for the tenth parliamentary elections, welcomed the disqualifications in its January 28 issue, describing the news related to these disqualifications as "propaganda" and "a mass attack on the Guardian Council under the pretext of not confirming qualifications." The Vatan-e-Emruz newspaper, close to the Stability Front, in an editorial titled "The ballot box is not a place to pour cement," referred to the Secretary of the Guardian Council as "the true cleric" and dedicated this note to Ahmad Jannati, calling him "the true cleric, the thorn in the eye of the counter-revolution, the guardian of the election's sanctity." The Resalat newspaper, close to the principlists, quoted Hossein Allah Karam, head of the Coordination Council of Ansar Hezbollah, as saying: "Liberals executed détente with America and are seeking détente with Israel in the upcoming elections." The Shahre Vahdat newspaper reported that "Tehran was half-closed on the eve of National Clean Air Day, and kindergartens, primary schools, and preschools were closed, and according to the decision of the emergency air pollution committee, offices are set to start work two hours late on Tuesday." The Farhikhtegan newspaper reported on the suicide of two students in Bafq, Yazd, quoting Mohammad Hosseini Pour, the social deputy of the Yazd police command, as saying: "After an incident that occurred ten days ago for a Bafqi student due to academic issues, who hanged himself, this time a Yazdi student ended his life by falling from the top floor of an apartment." The Shahre Vahdat newspaper noted that "in the past 100 years, Iran has warmed four times more than the world," stating: "Child laborers are victims of Tehran's air pollution. They work 14 to 20 hours daily on the streets and breathe polluted air. While this polluted air affects children's nervous systems and can even lead to their death." Out of 3,000 reformist candidates, only 30 were approved. The Iran newspaper reported that Hossein Marashi, head of the provincial working group of the Supreme Policy Council of Reformists, stated that "out of 3,000 reformist candidates, only 30 have been approved." The newspaper noted that "the announcement of the results of the qualifications review by the election monitoring boards surprised everyone," writing: "One day after the Guardian Council announced that only 40 percent of the candidates for the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections had been approved, the publication of names and the multitude of individuals whose qualifications were not confirmed by the monitoring board prompted senior government officials and the reformist movement to react." According to the newspaper, "On one hand, President Hassan Rouhani did not find the news from the qualifications review encouraging," and on the other hand, the Tehran governor said, "I personally did not expect this level of disqualifications." The newspaper stated that this surprise peaked when Hossein Marashi, after a meeting of this working group, announced: "Out of about 3,000 reformists who registered for the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections, only 30 reformists and supporters of the government across the country were approved." Hossein Marashi criticized the approach of the election monitoring boards, stating that the 99 percent disqualification of reformists contradicts the general policies of the system regarding maximum public participation and political groups in elections, and "called on the Guardian Council to defend the dignity of this institution." The head of the provincial working group of the Supreme Policy Council of Reformists urged President Hassan Rouhani to "take comprehensive measures to address this issue." However, Hossein Marashi emphasized that "reformists are very serious and will not be offended and will not leave the scene, and will have maximum influence in the parliamentary elections," stating that "we are not seeking to defend ourselves but to defend the system." He said: "If some decide that the share of half of the country's politics (reformists) is at most 30 seats, we will comply, but we do not accept that the system has reached such a conclusion." The head of the provincial working group of the Supreme Policy Council of Reformists told the Iran newspaper: "In many provinces, including Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Bushehr, and Kerman, not a single reformist candidate has been approved, and in Tehran, only 5 candidates from this movement were approved." Hossein Marashi also commented on the disqualification of Eshaq Jahangiri's brother, the first vice president, and the son of the Minister of Intelligence, saying: "Anyone who has been close to the government has been disqualified." The Iran newspaper quoted Hossein Marashi as saying: "Reformists are proud because they have done all the actions they should have done for a glorious election properly," and even "a number of reformists who were qualified to participate in the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections voluntarily did not register due to existing sensitivities; moderate reformist forces widely registered across the country and now face the widest disqualification in the history of the Islamic Revolution." A member of the central council of the Executives of Construction Party emphasized that "I do not think the Guardian Council and higher institutions can accept such a great injustice," stating: "This issue is a major test for Rouhani's government; no government has had its allies in the monitoring boards so severely eliminated." According to the Iran newspaper, the statements of the head of the provincial working group of the Supreme Policy Council of Reformists come at a time when "some news indicates a 100 percent disqualification of candidates who are members of reformist parties," and according to official and unofficial reports, "all members of the National Trust Party, the Executives of Construction Party, the Unity of Iranian Nation, the Will of the Iranian Nation, the Voice of Iranians, etc., were disqualified by the election monitoring boards." The Iran newspaper noted that this widespread disqualification in Tehran left only Mohammad Reza Aref, Alireza Mahjoub, Soheila Jelodarzadeh, Mostafa Kaveh Kabi, and Hashemi-Zahi for the reformists. Rouhani's use of which authority to react to the disqualifications The Etemad newspaper published Hassan Rouhani's reaction to the disqualifications in its Tuesday issue, quoting the Islamic Republic's president as saying: "To preserve the rights of the disqualified candidates, I will use my powers as president." On Sunday, in response to a question from Etemad newspaper regarding "as the president of Iran, how far will you go to uphold the rights of political figures disqualified by the Guardian Council and will you engage in negotiations in this regard?" he stated: "I also have initial information that was not very encouraging; we had very good conditions in two phases. During the registration, there was a very good reception, and in the other phase, when the executive boards reviewed the qualifications, it was very hopeful." Rezvaneh Rezai Pour, a reporter for Etemad newspaper, noted that "the president, although he speaks of those who, in the monitoring phase, according to his own interpretation, were not confirmed, expresses hope that the Guardian Council will address this issue and if there are cases where qualifications have not been confirmed but should be confirmed, which I think are numerous, the Guardian Council should intervene." Hassan Rouhani promised the disqualified candidates that "as president, I will use all my powers in this regard," emphasizing the "important role of the Guardian Council in safeguarding the constitution," and spoke of shared responsibilities with this institution, reminding that "we, in a sense, have shared responsibilities with the Guardian Council, meaning that both the president is a guardian of the constitution and responsible for its implementation, and the Guardian Council, in a sense, is the guardian of the constitution and ensures that the constitution is not violated in the country's laws." Etemad also quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying: "This institution supervises elections to ensure the law is implemented and hopes that the heavy responsibility that the Guardian Council bears can resolve this issue so that what the leader of the revolution sought for a very enthusiastic election with the presence of those who even do not have a good relationship with the system can be realized." The newspaper reported that Hassan Rouhani, in conclusion, expressed hope to the Guardian Council to resolve the issue of disqualifications, saying: "The Guardian Council should not allow anxiety to arise." Allah Karam: Liberals are seeking détente with Israel in the upcoming elections The Resalat newspaper, close to the principlists, quoted Hossein Allah Karam, head of the Coordination Council of Ansar Hezbollah, as saying: "Liberals executed détente with America and are seeking détente with Israel in the upcoming elections." Hossein Allah Karam, in a speech at the "Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Cold War," stated: "Liberals have always sought to undermine the revolution and Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and now "liberals are seeking to eliminate value-driven forces." According to the Resalat newspaper, the head of the Coordination Council of Hezbollah also spoke of the "great sedition of the liberals," stating: "The great sedition of the liberals is that they are currently trying to restore the imperialist state and divert the leadership of the Islamic Republic. They have been able to execute détente with America in recent months and are seeking détente with the Zionist regime in the upcoming elections." The newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards: News of disqualifications is "propaganda" and "a mass attack on the Guardian Council" The Javan newspaper, close to the Revolutionary Guards, which had previously accused the Ministry of Interior and Rouhani's government of "bulk approval" of candidates during the approval of most candidates for the tenth parliamentary elections, welcomed the disqualifications in its January 28 issue, describing the news related to these disqualifications as "propaganda" and "a mass attack on the Guardian Council under the pretext of not confirming qualifications." This newspaper pointed out that "these days, news related to the approval or disqualification of candidates is at the forefront of election-related news," writing: "The publication of various statistics and news about approvals is full of ambiguity. The statistics provided by various media show that at least 40 percent of those who registered to participate in the elections have been approved. Another 25 percent have been disqualified, and the main point here is that in the presentation of statistics, those whose qualifications have not been confirmed are not considered at all, and most of them are also mentioned among the disqualified statistics." The Javan newspaper emphasized that "the work of reviewing the qualifications of candidates for representation has not yet been completed, and the main review remains with the central board of the Guardian Council," writing that "some media are repeating this mistake that the work of reviewing qualifications has been completed." This newspaper also stated: "Not being confirmed is not a reason for disqualification, and reviews can still continue in this regard, as the Guardian Council has repeatedly emphasized this issue.