Rohani: We Must Not Turn Our Backs on the Ballot Boxes Under Any Circumstances

The President of Iran expressed hope for "increased electoral power for the people" with the approval of some disqualified candidates, stating that "nothing should take hope away from us, and we must not turn our backs on the ballot boxes under any circumstances." According to the state news agency IRNA, Hassan Rouhani emphasized on Sunday, February 11, that "if the people's presence at the ballot boxes in June 2013 had not occurred, we would not be experiencing victory in nuclear negotiations and the end of sanctions today." He added, "The same path must continue," and expressed the expectation that the esteemed Guardian Council would restore more hope to our society, allowing people to face a more open atmosphere, greater electoral power, and broader competition in the elections on March 7. On Thursday, February 1, Hassan Rouhani also reacted to the disqualification of a large number of candidates for the parliamentary elections, stating that the supporters of these candidates number up to 10 million, and asserted that "the parliament is the house of the nation, not a faction." These remarks provoked strong reactions from Hossein Shariatmadari, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Kayhan newspaper, several Friday prayer leaders including those in Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan, the clerical faction in parliament, and representatives of the Stability Front in parliament. According to Hossein Marashi, spokesperson for the Executives of Construction Party, only "30 out of 3,000 reformist candidates" or "one percent" have been approved. Regarding the widespread disqualifications by the supervisory boards, the Secretary of the National Election Headquarters also announced that if "a large number" of disqualified candidates are not approved, "there will be no competition and participation in some electoral districts." Nevertheless, reformists have announced that they will still participate in the parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the reformists' policy council, stated on Sunday that although reformists have "serious grievances" regarding the disqualification of their candidates, they will pursue their efforts to "restore the rights of the disqualified" within the framework of the law and will participate in the elections. The Deputy Prosecutor's warning to protesting disqualified candidates: Previously, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Discernment Council, Abbas Vaez Tabasi, representative of the Supreme Leader in Khorasan Razavi Province, Ghorbanali Daryan Najafabadi, Friday prayer leader of Arak, and Ali Motahari, representative of Tehran in parliament, along with some disqualified candidates, have protested against the widespread disqualifications of parliamentary candidates. Meanwhile, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a jailed member of the Participation Front, wrote in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that "almost all well-known and vote-winning reformist figures" did not register for the parliamentary elections to avoid "provoking the sensitivity" of the Supreme Leader. However, Morteza Bakhtiari, Deputy Security Prosecutor General, considered the candidacy of "some experienced individuals" as one of the "damages" of this parliamentary election cycle, stating that these individuals "knew they would be disqualified but registered with the intention of using it as leverage against the Guardian Council." According to Mehr News Agency, Bakhtiari emphasized that if the objections of parliamentary candidates to their disqualifications cause "public confusion and division," they will "definitely be subject to legal prosecution." He added, "I request the intelligence and security agencies to prevent these behaviors to avoid costs for the system." In another reaction, Hossein Ebrahimi, a member of the Combatant Clergy Association, described the reactions to the disqualification of parliamentary candidates as a "type of American infiltration." According to the Nasim website, he added, "There is a possibility that American infiltration could be through this way and they want to paralyze the country this way." Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Larijani, Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, stated in an interview with Tasnim News Agency that "complaining and whining and playing the victim and side issues about why someone was disqualified and another was not is beneath the dignity of the electoral atmosphere." In response to Hassan Khomeini's candidacy in the Assembly of Experts elections, he also said that he "entered the field too early" and "individual merit and knowledge cannot be proven through pumping and advertising." Reports indicate that Hassan Khomeini has officially protested his disqualification. In this context, the Dana website, affiliated with conservatives, announced that Ayatollah Mohammad Momen, a member of the Guardian Council's jurists, promised Hassan Khomeini that the Guardian Council would hold a "re-examination" for him. Hassan Khomeini had not participated in the Assembly of Experts election exam. Supportive media for Hassan Khomeini had previously published reports of his jurisprudential approval by several prominent clerics and religious authorities from Qom Seminary, including Vahid Khorasani, Abdollah Javadi Amoli, Abdul Karim Mousavi Ardebili, Mohammad Alavi Gorgani, Ali Akbar Masoudi Khomeini, and Ali Karimi Jahromi. However, members of the Guardian Council have stated that having approval from religious authorities is not sufficient for the qualification of candidates in the Assembly of Experts elections. Hassan Rouhani's name appears on the list of candidates supported by the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary. Meanwhile, Tasnim News Agency published on Sunday a list of 14 candidates supported by the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary in the Assembly of Experts elections in Tehran, which does not include Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Discernment Council. This list was published while Morteza Moghaddam, a member of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, stated that the list of candidates supported by this group would be "finalized this week." According to IRNA, he also announced that Hassan Rouhani's name is included in the list of candidates supported by this group. Hossein Ebrahimi, a member of the Combatant Clergy Association, reported on Thursday, February 8, that Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's name is not on the list of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary for the Assembly of Experts elections and that his inclusion in the list of the Combatant Clergy Association is also "doubtful." Previously, the Payesh website had reported separately that the Combatant Clergy Association had voted positively to support Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, but for the first time since the Islamic Revolution, the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary did not include Mr. Hashemi in its list. After these reports were published, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, Secretary General of the Combatant Clergy Association, announced that this group has not yet made a final decision to support Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani.