Rohani's Electoral Manifesto

Hassan Rohani's "protests and warnings" regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections have received widespread coverage in Sunday newspapers. The Shahrvand newspaper described the Iranian President's remarks at a nationwide governors' conference as "protests and warnings" and quoted him saying, "Let it not be heard in a county that at one time the government, the IRGC, the army, the state media, the governor, the mayor, and the office of the Friday prayer leader are supporters of this or that." The Etemad newspaper also highlighted Rohani's emphasis that "the ballot box should be transparent, not made of cloth," quoting him as saying that the ballot box "must be a plastic and transparent box so that everyone can see the votes inside from afar and it should not be made of cardboard, cloth, glue, or sewn together." The Iran newspaper referred to the President's remarks on Saturday as "Rohani's electoral manifesto," stating that "in a year that political observers have named the year of elections in Iran due to the simultaneous parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, the President's extensive remarks on Saturday contained a series of recommendations and warnings that can be considered the manifesto of the moderate government regarding the important electoral event." However, the Kayhan newspaper published remarks by Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, in one of its two main headlines, quoting him as saying, "Those involved in sedition have no right to enter the elections." According to this newspaper, Jannati emphasized the "serious attention to the issue of sedition in evaluating candidates' qualifications," stating, "The issue of sedition is a current issue, and the Leader has also said that sedition is our red line, so this topic is not old or forgotten." Kayhan quoted Jannati addressing the governors, saying, "The sedition aimed to overthrow the system, and we must believe this; it sought to eliminate our Islamic system," and you must believe this because this story continues. Seditionists still exist and have not abandoned the issue, and sometimes they occupy certain posts and positions, and those who give these posts to them will have to answer in the afterlife because seditionists want to present themselves in this way, and they are indeed supported." The Javan newspaper also quoted Jannati as saying, "The government has no right to interfere in the elections." This newspaper, close to the IRGC, mentioned Eshaq Jahangiri and referred to his remarks at the Central Council meeting of the Workers' Party, indicating that the Secretary of the Guardian Council's remarks were directed at the First Vice President of Iran. The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported that "on Saturday, the Minister of Interior announced that this governmental body will not issue permits for gatherings and assemblies either for or against the nuclear negotiations, while in recent days, alarmists have held many ceremonies in this regard, even in a government hall." The Tejarat newspaper reported that "in recent days, the withdrawal of 5,000 tomans from the accounts of customers of Bank Melli has caused a lot of noise and this unexpected withdrawal has led to public protests and dissatisfaction." The Shargh newspaper dedicated its front-page photo to Abbas Abdi, a political figure, who in an interview with Maziar Khosravi stated, "In the 2009 elections, we should have drawn a line around the result." Abdi emphasized that "reformists should have drawn a line around 2009 in terms of results and not participation, and waited for 2013," and regarding his support for Mehdi Karroubi in that election, he said, "To the extent that demands were raised and we were present, yes, at that time I explained these issues, I drew a circle and explained the ratio of forces to the center of power and said that you should choose the force that is closer to the center of the circle among reformists. The more you choose outer forces, the more you polarize society. In 2009, we should have drawn a line around the result; what was all this mobilization of forces in 2009 for?" According to Shargh, Abbas Abdi also said, "The apparent logic and reasoning was that Ahmadinejad was a great danger to the country; this analysis was correct, but in politics, just because a government or individual is a great danger, you cannot do anything because you must do something to eliminate the danger. If for any reason we did something that deepened the danger, we are responsible," and "Did reformists ever ask themselves whether the period from 2009 to 2013 was more disastrous than from 2005 to 2009?" The Jahan San'at newspaper dedicated its front-page photo to the fourth auction of Tehran's art works, noting that the sale of 21 billion and 40 million tomans from Sohrab Sepehri's paintings was a record-breaking sale in this auction. Rohani's electoral manifesto has received widespread coverage in Sunday newspapers. The Shahrvand newspaper described the Iranian President's remarks at a nationwide governors' conference as "protests and warnings" and quoted him saying, "Let it not be heard in a county that at one time the government, the IRGC, the army, the state media, the governor, the mayor, and the office of the Friday prayer leader are supporters of this or that." According to this newspaper, Hassan Rohani stated on Saturday during his remarks in the presence of officials from the Ministry of Interior, governors, and mayors: "Whether this faction or that faction or a third or fourth faction wins or loses, the victory of the government is that this year a lively, competitive, and free election is held," adding that "no faction in the country can be excluded; neither those on this side should dream, nor those on that side, nor those in the middle; all of them are present, and factions have a historical, ideological, and scientific root. Parties may disappear, but ideas remain; the name and form of the party may change, but ideas remain. We are a diverse and pluralistic nation; Iran is not like some Eastern countries where everyone lives in barracks; here people are free to speak and express their opinions." The Shahrvand newspaper quoted Hassan Rohani emphasizing that "elections cannot happen without competition; what does election even mean? It means choosing one among several options; otherwise, if there is only one option, then election has no meaning," and "when we say free elections, it must be a clarifying condition; non-free elections have no meaning and are not elections; if elections were truly free, it means there is competition." According to this newspaper, Hassan Rohani stated, "We all must create conditions for healthy competition; it should not be that someone says that person should not speak in this city; labels are attached so much that I do not know where these labels are produced; new labels are produced and attached every hour." The Etemad newspaper also dedicated its front-page photo and headline to the Iranian President, stating, "Hassan Rohani once again spoke of his concerns these days. About the same complaints and warnings that he expresses every now and then when his patience runs out," and "this time Hassan Rohani criticized the way 'the diplomat general' was treated in the presence of the country's most political managers and condemned what he called 'rude tones' used against negotiators, promising that as long as the nuclear negotiations are successfully concluded, he will clarify the 'hardships' that the negotiating team has endured. He likened the negotiations to the operations of the Sacred Defense, and he also had a question. He asked why some do not want the people's satisfaction and are afraid of the people's smiles. He spoke of his government that does not believe in fortune-tellers and sorcerers." This newspaper emphasized that Hassan Rohani also referred to his concerns about the upcoming elections, warning and emphasizing that the government, the IRGC, the army, the state media, the governor, and the mayor or the office of the Friday prayer leader should not support a specific candidate," stating that he delivered "one of his most warning speeches on Saturday." Etemad noted Rohani's emphasis that "the ballot box should be transparent, not made of cloth," quoting the Iranian President as saying that the ballot box "must be a plastic and transparent box so that everyone can see the votes inside from afar and it should not be made of cardboard, cloth, glue, or sewn together, and it should be a box that I can see my vote fall inside, and the other can also see their vote fall inside so that I, as the first person voting, can see that the box is empty and tomorrow they do not falsely tell me that this box was one-third full." According to this newspaper, Hassan Rohani posed the question, "Why is the box wrapped in cloth so that accusations can be made?" stating, "We must abandon this behavior and not allow accusations to be made against the system. Everything in the election must be transparent, and even if it costs money, it is worth it for us to bear the expense, and God willing, we will have a good, healthy, transparent, competitive election, a source of pride for the system, and as the Supreme Leader said, we must consider the people's votes and the ballot boxes as a trust and know that we will answer for it in this world and the hereafter and be good trustees." The Iran newspaper also focused on "Rohani's election warnings and recommendations" in its front page, stating, "In the upcoming elections, I will act as the executor of the Constitution; the criteria for evaluating qualifications should be the opinions of legal authorities and not anything else from the government." According to this newspaper, Hassan Rohani emphasized that "the government will not enter the elections as a supporter of this faction or that faction at all," stating that "this should not be heard that the government, the IRGC, the army, the state media, the governor, and the mayor or the office of the Friday prayer leader are supporters of a specific candidate." The Iran newspaper also referred to the President's remarks on Saturday as "Rohani's electoral manifesto," stating, "In a year that political observers have named the year of elections in Iran due to the simultaneous parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, Rohani attended an important meeting of governors across the country to outline the government's perspective as the executor and custodian of the elections. The President's extensive remarks contained a series of recommendations and warnings that can be considered the manifesto of the moderate government regarding the important electoral event." Nasser Hosseini, in the editorial of the Iran newspaper, emphasized that these remarks by Hassan Rohani were made at a time when the political atmosphere in Iran is more influenced by another event in the diplomatic arena, namely the nuclear negotiations, negotiations that have entered their sensitive and final stage after 20 months. According to the editorial writer of the Iran newspaper, "Despite the government's focus on advancing negotiations within the framework of national interests, Hassan Rohani's remarks on Saturday contained a clear message that the government of prudence and hope is not neglectful of the importance of elections and this aspect of the rights of the people and political activists, and it is determined to assure all Iranian citizens of holding a competitive, free, and healthy election." The Iran newspaper emphasized that "in the path of holding a fair and impactful election, Hassan Rohani stressed that the execution of this process is not solely within the government's capabilities, but the cooperation and alignment of other governmental institutions is also necessary and even obligatory," and for this reason, Rohani emphasized that "no one should say that the IRGC, the state media, the governor, the office of the Friday prayer leader, etc., are supporters of a specific candidate in the elections because this is poison for the elections. All responsible officials, all armed and unarmed powers, and all officials whose responsibilities are for parties and factions should not do anything that allows them to be accused." This newspaper emphasized that the concerns of the moderate cabinet are directed at a current that sometimes claims extralegal powers for itself and resorts to behaviors outside the framework of the law, stating, "Hassan Rohani's speech on Saturday was a kind of ultimatum to these currents not to expect the government to yield to their interventions in the elections due to pressure and expediency. The President preemptively warned this law-evading group to eliminate the option of the government's leniency regarding actions and decisions contrary to the law from their calculations." The editorial writer of the Iran newspaper stated that Hassan Rohani's remarks contained the message that the government's responsibility in the crucial electoral matter is based on the legal powers entrusted to it by the Constitution under the title of the duty to "supervise the proper implementation of the principles of the Constitution," and "it intends to use this legal power to curb unilateral actions and law evasion and confront obstacles to the will of the people." The Aftab Yazd newspaper looked at the gatherings against the nuclear negotiations, stating, "From where are the permits for the alarmists' gatherings issued?" The Aftab Yazd newspaper reported in its Sunday issue that "on Saturday, the Minister of Interior announced that this governmental body will not issue permits for gatherings and assemblies either for or against the nuclear negotiations, while in recent days, alarmists have held many ceremonies in this regard, even in a government hall." According to this newspaper, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated, "An issue like the nuclear issue, which has a national aspect, cannot be used by anyone to hold gatherings or assemblies in society as supporters or opponents. We will not issue any permits for issues that have reached a consensus." The Aftab Yazd newspaper raised the question, "From where are the permits for the alarmists' gatherings issued?" stating, "Rahmani Fazli's remarks become questionable when we look at the series of activities that have been repeatedly carried out by a specific group in recent days and months." This newspaper attributed the gatherings against the nuclear negotiations to a group that "considers itself the true well-wishers of the system and the nation and claims that the negotiating officials of our country are pawns of foreign powers."