Parliament Prohibits Guardian Council and Government from Favoring Candidates in Elections

On Tuesday, November 5, the Iranian parliament approved a bill that, if finally confirmed, will prevent members of the Guardian Council, the President, and election officials from expressing opinions in favor of or against candidates and political factions in parliamentary elections. According to Fars News Agency, violators of this law will be punished with a 'sixth-degree monetary penalty' as per Article 19 of the Islamic Penal Code. This monetary penalty is set between two million to eight million tomans. Under the current parliamentary election law, only members of the executive and supervisory boards are prohibited from 'campaigning for or against' election candidates. According to the parliament's Tuesday resolution, members of the Guardian Council, members of the supervisory boards of the Guardian Council, the President, the Minister of Interior and their deputies and advisors, the head and members of the national election headquarters, the head and members of the provincial election headquarters, governors, mayors and their deputies and advisors, and members of the election executive boards and inspectors, as well as other officials involved in the executive and supervisory affairs of elections 'cannot express opinions in favor of or against candidates and political factions in parliamentary elections.' The Islamic Consultative Assembly has been reviewing a bill to amend the parliamentary election law for several weeks. In several past parliamentary and presidential elections, reformists and some conservatives have accused members of the Guardian Council of favoring their supported candidates. Meanwhile, before each parliamentary election, some representatives accuse the government of trying to send their preferred candidates to parliament. Reports indicate that at least six of the twelve members of the Guardian Council, responsible for overseeing elections, directly or indirectly supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election. In this context, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated on Saturday, May 29, that support from 'the government, the IRGC, the army, state media, governors, mayors, and the office of the Friday prayer leader' for candidates is like 'poison for elections.' On the same day, Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, emphasized that the government 'has no right' to interfere in elections and warned that the government and the Ministry of Interior 'cannot' lean towards 'a specific political faction.' The parliament's resolution does not mention military forces or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Previously, some candidates in the ninth parliamentary elections, including Ali Motahari and Mostafa Kavakebian, accused the IRGC of trying to send their preferred candidates to parliament. Meanwhile, Ali Saidi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, described the change of the conservative parliament to 'another parliament' as a 'threat' to 'the interests of the system' and also to the 'ideals' of Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei. Mr. Saidi also stated on January 8, 2013, that 'the inherent duty of the IRGC is to logically and reasonably engineer elections.' These remarks sparked widespread protests, including from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the then-President of Iran, who said on January 9, 2013, 'Anyone who wants to manage the people will be managed by the people.' The Expediency Discernment Council of the System of Iran, on Saturday, February 14, 2015, while reviewing 'the general policies of elections,' prohibited the involvement of armed forces and intelligence and security agencies in 'political and factional classifications in elections and favoring specific candidates.' These policies must also be approved by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, after being passed in this council.