EU urges fair Iran vote
MPs continue sit-in at legislature for second straight day
Ayatollah to step in if reformists, conservatives at impasse
1.13.2004
TEHRAN
The European Union yesterday called for fair elections in Iran and criticized the disqualification of hundreds of liberal candidates.
Planned Feb. 20 parliamentary elections were thrown into crisis after Iran's hard-line Guardian Council disqualified hundreds, including more than 80 sitting legislators allied with the reformist president.
"The electoral process is very important for democracy and will be very important to us," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on a visit to the capital Tehran. "We want very much (for) the electoral process to be clear and transparent.''
Washington also opposed any interference in the vote.
"We call upon the Iranian government to disavow attempts by the Guardian Council to shape the outcome," U.S. State Department spokesperson Adam Ereli said.
Conservatives "are paving the way for enemies who want to show the Islamic Republic is a despotic state," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's pro-reform League of Combatant Clerics said in a state news agency report.
Khatami has pledged to fight the disqualifications and reformist MPs staged a sit-in on carpets at the legislature for a second day yesterday.
Reformist leaders could boycott the election or cancel it.
The Guardian Council of 12 conservatives, picked by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, disqualified about 900 of 1,700 people wanting to contest seats in Tehran alone.
Those disqualified can appeal.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, said he would intervene if the conservatives and reformists reach an impasse.
The ayatollah also told Iran's provincial governors, all of whom have threatened to resign if the disqualifications are not reversed: "Everyone should abide by the law. If ... it becomes sensitive and requires a decision, I will intervene."
Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said: "The top leaders are thinking of a solution so that, God willing, the rights of nobody will be ignored and a crisis does not develop."
Disqualified MPs include the president's younger brother, Mohammad Reza Khatami, who leads Islamic Iran Participation Front, the largest reformist party.
The disqualifications were reported Sunday by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and by Khatami allies, but it was unclear when the council made the decision.
Some 8,200 prospective candidates registered last month to run for 290 legislative seats. Their qualifications must be approved by local trustees, then the Guardian Council. On Sunday, IRNA said the council vetoed 2,033 but Reuters said yesterday only half the 8,200 were approved to stand for office.
It's possible for the interior ministry, controlled by reformists, to ignore the vetoes and put disqualified names on the ballots.
The Guardian Council disqualified any deemed to oppose the absolute rule of Khamenei.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS
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