Response of Guardian Council Spokesman to Ahmadinejad's Allegation of 'Election Engineering'

One day after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president, sent a letter regarding 'election engineering' by the Guardian Council, the spokesman of this body accused Ahmadinejad of attempting the same. The former president of Iran, in his letter to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, published on Wednesday, called for the removal of the head of the judiciary and 'immediate and free elections' in the country without interference from 'law enforcement agencies' and 'engineering by the Guardian Council.' Ahmadinejad proposed 'free elections' as a necessity in his letter, stating: 'Holding immediate and free presidential and parliamentary elections, of course without the engineering of the Guardian Council and the interference of military and security institutions, and allowing the people to choose freely, is an urgent necessity.' No official has yet responded to Ahmadinejad's views, making Abbasali Kadkhodai, the spokesman of the Guardian Council, the first to respond by writing a text on his Telegram channel. In this text, Kadkhodai recalls a memory from 'Tuesday, June 15, 2009,' when Ahmadinejad insisted that the Guardian Council confirm the election results as soon as possible. However, according to the spokesman, the council resisted Ahmadinejad's insistence and stated that complaints from other candidates must be reviewed first. Ahmadinejad himself is one of the main accused in the suppression of critics and opponents during his eight years in office, and two of his rivals from the 2009 election are still under house arrest. Ahmadinejad's opponents have accused the Islamic Republic, especially during the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, of engineering votes and interfering with military and security institutions, particularly the Revolutionary Guards, to ensure his victory. A few days after the announcement of the 2009 election results, Ahmadinejad referred to his opponents and protesters as 'a bunch of dust and debris.' In his Telegram post, Kadkhodai raises a question after recounting his memory from the 2009 elections, seemingly accusing Ahmadinejad himself of 'engineering elections' or attempting to do so. Kadkhodai wrote: 'Now we must see who was pursuing election engineering? The Guardian Council or engineering in the guise of an executive position?' He further emphasizes that the council acted according to the law and 'despite the insistence of an executive official of the country, did not yield to announcing the validity of the elections prematurely.' At that time, Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the Guardian Council and its most influential member, was accused of favoring Ahmadinejad's election contrary to the laws and principles related to the supervisory work of this body, and indirectly supported him in several speeches. In recent months, Ahmadinejad has directed his sharpest criticisms at Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, and his brother Ali, the speaker of the parliament. Last month, he also wrote a letter to Ali Khamenei requesting the Supreme Leader's intervention in the case of Hamid Baghaei, who faces financial charges, stating that the Larijani brothers have inflicted 'irreparable damage to the trust of the people, the revolution, the parliament, and the judiciary.' In this context, Karroubi considered the current situation in Iran a direct result of Khamenei's policies.