The Guardian Council rejected the eligibility of 25% of applicants to run in the elections in early March 2024 (Al Jazeera)
Tehran -
With the launch of propaganda campaigns for the parliamentary elections and the Leadership Council of Experts in Iran, it became clear that in addition to the oversight mechanism of the Guardian Council, which rejected the eligibility of 25% of applicants to run, the new electoral law excluded a number of other prominent figures in Parliament.
Al Jazeera Net provides a brief overview of the most prominent political figures who were absent from the electoral field scheduled for the first of next March:
The Guardian Council rejects Rouhani’s eligibility two and a half years after he left the presidential palace (Iranian press)
Hassan Rohani
Only two and a half years after he left the presidential palace, the Guardian Council rejected the eligibility of former President Hassan Rouhani to run for the Leadership Council of Experts, after Rouhani spent 8 years of his life as president of the country, 20 years as a member of Parliament, and 25 years as a permanent member of the Leadership Council of Experts.
Between 2003 and 2005, Rouhani was Iran's chief negotiator on the nuclear issue, and he is also a member of the Mujahideen Religious Scholars Council, which includes conservative clerics.
After his request to run for the council elections was rejected, Rouhani issued a statement in which he called on the people to participate in the elections, explaining that “the ruling minority officially and publicly wants to reduce the people’s participation in the elections and keep the elections and the Fund from determining the fate of the people so that it can determine their fate with its decisions.”
Alavi was Iranian Minister of Intelligence for a period of 8 years during the government of former President Hassan Rouhani (Iranian press)
Mahmoud Alawi
The Guardian Council refused to certify the eligibility of former Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi after he registered to run in the elections for the Leadership Council of Experts, despite the Council’s support of the eligibility of his son Mohsen Alavi to run in the electoral race.
In addition to having led the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence for 8 years during the government of former President Hassan Rouhani, Alawi was a member of the Iranian Parliament for 16 years and a member of the Leadership Council of Experts for the past 8 years. He also represented the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the political ideological department of the Iranian army for 10 years.
Jannati spent 43 years as a member of the Guardian Council (Iranian Press)
Ahmed Jannati
After veteran politician and conservative cleric Ahmed Jannati Ladani spent 43 years as a jurist member of the Guardian Council - during which he chaired the council charged with supervising elections during 31 years - one of his relatives announced that the 97-year-old had not submitted an application to run for the scheduled elections to the Assembly of Experts. Early next March.
Although the source close to Jannati did not announce the real reason for his reluctance this time to run in the electoral arena, the Iranian press attributed the reason to his advanced age.
Jannati refrains from running in the electoral competition to win a seat in the Leadership Council of Experts for the first time after he was a permanent member in all five sessions of the Council for about 40 years, and held its presidency during the past eight years.
Jannati was known to be a hawk of the conservative movement and a strong defender of the theory of guardianship of the jurist, as his opponents accused him of exploiting his position in the Guardian Council to eliminate his political opponents and refuse to ratify their candidacy in the elections.
Kashani (92 years old) withdrew from the electoral fray before the start of the propaganda campaigns (Anatolia)
Emami Kashani
Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, a veteran politician and conservative cleric, has been associated with Friday prayers in Tehran and his calm tone in its sermons for more than 4 decades, despite holding numerous official and judicial positions and his membership in the Guardian Council and Leadership Experts.
Before the term of the current Leadership Council of Experts expired, Kashani applied to run for the upcoming Council elections, and he obtained the necessary eligibility, but he withdrew from the electoral fray before the start of the propaganda campaigns, which raised doubts about the Guardian Council’s rejection of his eligibility to run.
Media reports questioning Kashani’s eligibility came after accusations made by former MP Abbas Balizdar regarding his involvement in a financial corruption case, which prompted Guardian Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif to announce to the Iranian media that Kashani’s (92 years old) withdrawal from the electoral competition is related to his advanced age. And his health condition.
Amending the election law prevented Mir Selim from running in the parliamentary elections (Iranian press)
Mir Salim
Mustafa Mir Saleem, a veteran politician and head of the Central Council of the conservative “Mutalifa” party. His name was associated with the hawks of the conservative movement. After the victory of the Iranian revolution, he worked as an advisor to the Minister of the Interior. He was a prominent member of the “Islamic Republic” party. He also assumed the position of Minister of Culture in the second term of the presidency. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1993-1997).
Although the first Iranian parliament did not approve of him assuming the position of prime minister after he was nominated by the first president of the Islamic Republic, Abul Hassan Banisadr, the idea of a conservative politician occupying the throne of the presidency and parliament continued to haunt him from time to time, which justified him running for the presidential race in 2017.
But he quickly withdrew in favor of the conservative candidate, Ibrahim Raisi, who lost the competition to his rival, Hassan Rouhani, so that Mir Salim entered Parliament in 2020 as a representative from the capital, Tehran.
After amending the election law in 2023, which sets the maximum age for candidates at 45 years, Mir Salim (76 years old) was unable to run in the parliamentary elections in 2024.
Qasim Saadi
Qassem Saadi, an Iranian Arab politician from Khuzestan Province, southwest of the country, won the parliamentary elections in two consecutive sessions, the tenth and 11th. He represented the people of Khafajiyah and Hawizeh for a period of 8 years in the legislative authority. He is known for having done his best to interrogate the Iranian Minister of Interior, Ahmed Vahidi.
In response to Iranian media questions about whether the reason for his disqualification was due to his criticism of the government’s performance, Saadi said that the Guardian Council refused to certify his eligibility in accordance with Article 31 under the pretext of not adhering to Islamic law.
Koji was known for his opposition positions to many government projects and plans (Iranian press)
Rashidi Koji
Iranian politician Jalal Rashidi Koji, at the age of 35, registered his name among the circle of young politicians entering Parliament after he occupied the seat of Shiraz governor in the prime of his youth.
Despite his membership in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the military establishment’s support for him, some observers link the brightness of his early star to the loss of his father, Jalil, as a result of his injury during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).
Koji was known for his opposition positions to many government projects and plans, including the draft law protecting the rights of social media users, the hijab law, and confronting corruption.
Some Iranian political circles link the rejection of Falahatpisheh’s eligibility to his positions in 2020 (Iranian press)
Falah Bisha
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a reformist politician and doctor at Allameh Tabatabai University, is known for his close relationship with the media after he tried journalistic work during his university days in the capital, Tehran.
He previously won the parliamentary elections in the seventh, eighth, and tenth sessions, and was famous for his political positions in the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, which he headed at times and spoke on behalf of at other times.
Despite his previous membership in the Iranian Parliament, which amounted to 12 years, the Guardian Council rejected his eligibility to run in the 2024 elections.
The Guardian Council did not announce the reason for its rejection of Falahatpisheh’s candidacy, but some Iranian political circles link the rejection of the reformist politician’s eligibility to his positions in 2020, as he revealed in a press interview with the “Etemad Online” website that his country provided aid worth 20 to 30 billion dollars to Syria, He stressed, "We have to recover this amount, because our people's money was spent there."
Source: Al Jazeera