Iran Election Row Edges Toward Compromise Solution
Wed February 4, 2004
By Parisa Hafezi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's pro-reform government said Wednesday it was close to resolving a bitter row with hard-liners over parliamentary elections that has plunged the Islamic Republic into its worst political crisis for years.
The compromise deal over the exclusion of hundreds of reformist candidates from the Feb. 20 vote appeared to have been hammered out thanks to the intervention of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali-Khamenei, who has final say on all state affairs.
"We hope that by tomorrow afternoon we can reach acceptable results which could prepare the ground for the government to be able to hold the election," government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
He said Khamenei had called on officials to ensure a high voter turnout. Reformists have said the mass disqualification of candidates by the hard-line Guardian Council would dissuade an already politically-disillusioned public from voting.
"We hope the leader's views will be implemented," he said.
The Guardian Council -- an unelected oversight body dominated by religious hard-liners -- is expected to announce many of those barred from the election race can now run.
Reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami, who had previously said they would boycott the election even if all of the more than 2,000 barred candidates were reinstated, hinted they may be prepared to soften their stance.
"If there are positive developments we will review our decisions for the future," Ali Shakourirad, a member of Iran's largest reform party, told Reuters. "I believe there is a lot of hope but we should wait and see what practical steps are taken."
KHAMENEI: NO DEAD-END
The vast majority of those barred were reformists and included more than 80 current members of the 290-seat parliament.
Khamenei, who analysts had long expected to step in to sort out the standoff, said such disputes were not unusual.
"There have always been disputes. (But) there is no knot which cannot be untied... There is no dead-end facing the Islamic system and the Iranian nation," Khamenei said in a speech, excerpts of which were broadcast by state television.
Reformists had called for the election to be postponed, but Khamenei made it clear a delay was unacceptable, officials said.
"The elections must be held on the appointed date of February 20 without a single day of delay," he said.
Khamenei, who has tended to side with hard-liners in disputes since Khatami's 1997 election win, strongly criticized reformist officials for threatening to resign over the election dispute.
"Evading responsibility by resigning or any other method is illegal and religiously forbidden," he said.
More than 120 reformist lawmakers resigned from parliament Sunday and dozens of other officials, including vice-presidents, ministers and state governors, had also threatened to quit.
Khatami was due to meet later Wednesday with reformist lawmakers to discuss the latest developments.
Reformists say the mass disqualifications were a crude attempt by hard-liners to regain control of parliament which they lost to reformists in 2000 elections.
Unelected hard-liners control powerful institutions such as the military, judiciary and Guardian Council, which they have used to block reformist legislation, jail dozens of reformist activists and close down scores of liberal newspapers.
Public interest in the election row has been muted with most Iranians disillusioned with the reformist-conservative power struggle and the lack of progress on economic and social reforms.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4280545