Registration for City and Village Council Election Candidates Begins on Tuesday

On Saturday, March 18, the Ministry of Interior announced that registration for candidates for the fifth round of city and village council elections will begin on Tuesday, March 20. According to the information committee of the country's election headquarters, registration will start on March 20 at the governorates and district offices and will continue until April 6. The announcement of this schedule has been met with protests due to its coincidence with the New Year holiday and the beginning of Nowruz celebrations. Ahmad Donyamali, a member of the Tehran City Council and close associate of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, stated in a council meeting that the set date is 'not suitable,' saying, 'Some agencies will be closed during this time, and candidates will definitely face difficulties in matching their documents.' The fifth round of Islamic city and village council elections is set to be held simultaneously with the presidential elections on May 18, 2016. According to the Iranian Constitution, oversight of council elections is the responsibility of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament). Previously, Mohammad Mahmoudi Shah-Neshin was elected as the chairman, Mohammad Javad Kolivand as vice chairman, Farhad Tajari as spokesperson, and Bahram Parsai as secretary of the central supervisory board for council elections. Additionally, 90 members have been selected as supervisory board members from among the representatives of each province, with 35 of these members belonging to the Hope faction. Based on the schedule for the fifth round of council elections, the results of candidate qualifications will be announced on April 21, following inquiries from the Ministry of Intelligence, the judiciary, the police, and the Civil Registration Organization, as the four supervisory authorities. Candidates whose qualifications are rejected will have three days to appeal to the 'higher supervisory boards,' and the handling of complaints and the final results will be announced on May 6, 2017. The Secretary of the Guardian Council and some Friday prayer leaders have called the transfer of oversight of these elections to Parliament a 'mistake.' Ayatollah Hassan Ameli, the Friday prayer leader of Ardabil, stated in his sermon on March 17 that 'the transfer of oversight and qualification determination for city council candidates to Parliament representatives is a significant legislative error.' Ayatollah Mohammad Mahdi Hosseini, the Friday prayer leader of Karaj, also criticized the large number of candidates for the council elections, adding, 'Individuals who register should not waste time and public funds if they do not see any capability in themselves.' Previously, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, stated on March 6, 'Unfortunately, oversight in city council elections is not systematic, and it is a disaster because qualifications are not properly reviewed.' However, following these remarks, Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council, stated that this council has neither claims, nor opportunities, nor the necessary resources for 'oversight of council elections.' On the other hand, the tenth Parliament has reduced the number of members in the fifth council, according to the relevant law, reducing the number of members of the Tehran City Council from 31 to 21. The number of members of the Mashhad City Council will also decrease to 15, and five other cities will have 13-member councils. According to Mohammad Mahmoudi Shah-Neshin, the head of the central supervisory board for council elections, the total number of seats in the fifth round of Islamic city and village councils will be 39,575. In a press conference, he explained that '36,838 villages will have three-member Islamic councils, 2,742 villages will have five-member Islamic councils, 1,059 cities will have five-member Islamic councils, 132 cities will have seven-member councils, 34 cities will have nine-member councils, and nine cities will have eleven-member councils.' The announcement of the time and conditions for the registration of council election candidates comes at a time when several journalists and social media operators supporting President Hassan Rouhani were arrested last week. One of the detainees, Morad Taqafi, a researcher, journalist, and civil activist, had recently held speeches and meetings about urban management and the role of councils, according to the Saham News website. Mr. Taqafi also manages the NGO 'In the City,' and the reason for his arrest and the detaining authority has not yet been disclosed. Ali Motahari, on Wednesday, March 15, stated in an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), 'This action was taken in the last days of the year when Parliament is not in session and information dissemination is difficult, creating doubts, especially on the eve of the elections.' In this context, there have been calls to 'avoid political views' in the qualification review of council election candidates. Three members of the city council and the deputy mayor of Tabriz have been arrested. Is the decision to reduce members a limitation on the activities of councils? Special page for the 2016 elections. Follow news and reports related to the 2016 elections on the special page of Radio Farda.