Rohani: We Must Not Let People Become Disillusioned and Not Come to the Polls

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, referring to the qualification review of election candidates by the Guardian Council, stated that we must prevent people from becoming disillusioned so they participate in the elections. According to the presidential website on February 10, Hassan Rouhani, in a joint interview with France 24 television, France Culture radio, and Le Monde newspaper, explained the three stages of registration, qualification review by executive bodies, and qualification review by the Guardian Council in response to a question about the election process in Iran and its democratic nature. He emphasized: "We are currently in the middle of the process, meaning the first group has completed their work, the second group has also done theirs, and we are waiting for the Guardian Council's actions. I hope that things proceed in a way that allows more people to come to the polls and that a broad and good election is held, and that whoever reflects the people's vote and opinion is chosen." The President of Iran continued: "Elections are a very important stage in the democratic process of a country. At the same time, I was elected in a highly competitive election among candidates. Conditions must be such that people come to the polls and make their choices. We must not let people become disillusioned and not come to the polls, and this will definitely not happen." The 10th parliamentary elections and the 5th Assembly of Experts elections will be held on March 7 this year. More than 12,000 people registered for the parliamentary elections, and initially, the executive bodies affiliated with the Ministry of Interior disqualified 804 candidates based on inquiries from government, judicial, and security authorities. However, in the second stage, the election monitoring bodies, affiliated with the Guardian Council, reviewed the qualifications of the parliamentary candidates and announced that about 42% of the candidates for the 10th parliamentary elections have been approved. According to the Guardian Council, the qualifications of about 30% of the candidates were not established, and about 25% of the candidates were disqualified. In this regard, the Secretary of the National Election Headquarters previously stated that 593 candidates for the parliamentary elections have withdrawn, and the Guardian Council has not approved the qualifications of 6,753 candidates for the 10th parliamentary elections (disqualified and not established). It is now the turn of the Guardian Council to review complaints and announce its opinion again regarding the qualifications of candidates, confirming how many candidates will compete for parliamentary representation in the elections on March 7. The election monitoring bodies announced their opinions on January 26, and according to the law, there is a 20-day period for filing complaints and for the Guardian Council's review, so February 5 is the last opportunity for filing and addressing complaints. The Guardian Council is expected to announce its final opinion on February 16. Regarding the Assembly of Experts elections, the Guardian Council has only approved the qualifications of 166 out of 801 candidates for this assembly. Hassan Rouhani previously protested the widespread disqualification of reformists, stating: "If one faction is allowed to participate in the elections and another is not, then why are we holding elections?" In another part of this interview, Hassan Rouhani expressed hope that he would be able to fulfill his promises in the future. He said: "I have fulfilled a significant part of the promises I made, and I hope to fulfill the rest of my promises to the best of my ability." The President of Iran emphasized: "I made promises to the people, part of which I have been able to implement so far, and of course, I have done my utmost to implement all of them, but I have succeeded in part and implemented them, and we have largely organized the economic situation before the sanctions were lifted." He added: "Despite the fact that the past year has been difficult due to the drop in oil prices from $112 at the beginning of the 11th government’s activities to about $25, it has been a tough year. When a country's oil revenue drops to a quarter or a fifth, it is difficult, but at the same time, I have acted on the promises I made to the extent of my ability." Regarding reducing tensions with the U.S., the President stated: "What I announced from the beginning of my election is that we want to reduce tensions with the U.S. Although this tension has somewhat decreased, we have a long way to go to resolve the issues. These matters are complex, and problems arise in practice, but in any case, one day the issues between Iran and the U.S. will be resolved because there will be no permanent disagreement between these two important countries; however, due to the complexities involved, it is not possible to resolve all issues in the short term." Hassan Rouhani further stated: "In terms of freedom of expression, the current conditions have changed significantly from the past. Today, you see that criticism of the government and the president is done easily. Various groups hold speeches and meetings at universities, which was not the case before." Mr. Rouhani's statements come at a time when Human Rights Watch, based in New York, has criticized the violation of the rights of political activists and journalists, as well as the widespread disqualification of parliamentary candidates. This human rights organization pointed out that, in addition to "serious structural problems" in Iran's electoral system, the "arbitrary" disqualifications are such that "truly no different candidates remain for the people to vote for."