Iran's Ministry of the Interior has disqualified
a number of current MPs from running in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.
Ali Motahari
Ali Motahari, Hamidreza Katouzian, Alireza Mahjoub,
Ali Abbaspour Tehrani, Fatemeh Ajorloo, Abbasali Noura, Peymon Forouzesh,
Ghodratollah Alikhani and Daryoosh Ghanbari, who have all been involved in
strong criticism of the administration over the past year, have been
disqualified by the ministry, according to Iranian media.
While the actual reason for the disqualification has not been announced, Ali
Motahari says it's because of the election article demanding belief and
commitment to Islam, the constitution and the supreme leadership.
Although Motahari belongs to a conservative group, the Principalists, he has
severely criticized the administration and, in the past month, he went so far as
to hand in his resignation to the parliamentary speaker over Parliament's
refusal to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning on a series of
administrative irregularities.
The deputy head of Parliament, Mohammadreza Bahonar, said disqualifying
government critics among the Principalists from running for office is
"narrow-minded."
Peymon Forouzesh maintained that they were disqualified in retaliation for
supporting the motion to question the president.
However, Tehran Governor Morteza Tamaddon insisted that the disqualifications
were carried out according to the law and in the "interests of the sacred
Islamic Republic system."
He added that the nominees have four days to appeal the decision. The final
decision regarding the eligibility of nominees to run in the elections is made
by the Guardian Council.
