Reformists sidelined as Iran elects parliament
IRAN: Iran on Friday voted in elections expected to tighten the grip
of conservatives on parliament after a low-key campaign and the mass
disqualification of reformist candidates by a hardline vetting body.
Reformists are only able to contest around half of the 290 seats up
for grabs after the Guardians Council vetoed hundreds of their
candidates for being deemed insufficiently loyal to the Islamic
revolution.
The sidelining of reformists means it will be difficult to use the
vote as a barometre of controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s
popularity, despite discontent over inflation rates of almost 18
percent.
Top officials and state media have made every effort to emphasise the
importance of a massive turnout to show national unity at a time of
mounting tension with the West over the Iranian nuclear programme.
State television was playing patriotic music against a backdrop of
pictures of Iran’s ancient heritage and long queues of people voting in
past elections in a bid to show the importance of the election.
“For our country and our nation this is a critical moment and day,”
said supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he voted in Tehran. “The
election is a time that determines the fate of a nation.”
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who rushed from an Islamic summit in
Senegal to vote, proclaimed that the world had chosen Iran as its “role
model and saviour.”
The authorities will be hoping there is no repeat of the slack
turnout in 2004, when barely half the electorate voted nationwide and
less than 40 percent in Tehran.
“Why should I vote when I am buying rice for 30,000 rials (around 3
dollars) a kilo? They have already been elected. They are joking.
They’ve deceived people and will continue to do so,” said Seyyed
Mohsen, 51, a car dealer.Reformists enjoyed their high point between
2000-2004 when they controlled parliament and their champion Mohammad
Khatami was president.
But they were left with only a few dozen seats in parliament after
the 2004 elections and the hardline Ahmadinejad took over the presidency
a year later.
Tehran, Friday, AFP |
