The new Iranian parliament and its new expectations
Editorial June, 2000: "The new Iranian parliament and its new expectations
Editorial By: Dr. Ali Nourizadeh
At last the new session of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) began its work on Saturday, 27th of May. Among the high-ranking officials who attended the opening ceremony, Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's presence was highly noticed-attending as a non-member of parliament. This was especially significant since as recently as two days prior to this he was one of the candidates for the job of Majlis speaker.
Rafsanjani's decision to bow out of parliament following allegations of election fraud did not help improve his battered image in the eyes of the Iranian public. It was significant that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not come to the defence of Rafsanjani, who has been under heavy fire from the reformers. This suggests that Khamenei would prefer the former president to be "in the shadow", at least for the time being.
Conservatives had looked to Rafsanjani, a veteran revolutionary cleric who was president from 1989 to 1997 and previously served two terms as parliament speaker, to mount a strong challenge for the post again and also to lead the conservatives' parliamentary bloc. His withdrawal has further weakened the conservatives' position in the new 290-seat parliament, in which the reformists hold a majority of the 259 plus seats that have so far been confirmed by the Guardian Council.
Although former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani never had a real chance of becoming speaker of Iran's new Majlis, his decision to withdraw from the incoming parliament will make it easier for reformists to elect one of their own as head of the legislature. Behzad Nabavi, an advisor to reformist President Mohammad Khatami, is the reformers' favourite candidate for the post, follwed by Dr. Mohsen Mirdamadi and Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi. Karrubi. However, could prove "more acceptable" to the reformists' conservative rivals.
Nabavi, who heads the "Mujahedeen of the Islamic Revolution Organisation", came eighth in the Tehran race. Dr. Miradamadi is a Cambridge graduate and co-founder of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), the leading reformist group headed by President Khatami's brother, Mohammadreza. Mirdamadi was also among the top ten vote getters in Tehran.
Leading reformists such as Mohammadreza Khatami and Alireza Nouri believe the time has come for the speakership to go to a layman, but if they cannot get their way, they would nominate Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi, a cleric who has held the post in the past. Karrubi, who heads the Combatant Clerics Society to which President Khatami was affiliated, has good relations with Ayatollah Khamenei and some right-wing circles. His background and the fact that he is not as "anti-conservative" as Nabavi and Mirdamadi, would make him more acceptable or, to put it differently, "less provocative"- to the supreme leader and the conservative camp. And as we go to print Ayatollah Karrubi has been elected as temporary speaker of parliament for a few weeks, although he may be later on elected to the post for one year."
Editorial By: Dr. Ali Nourizadeh
At last the new session of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) began its work on Saturday, 27th of May. Among the high-ranking officials who attended the opening ceremony, Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani's presence was highly noticed-attending as a non-member of parliament. This was especially significant since as recently as two days prior to this he was one of the candidates for the job of Majlis speaker.
Rafsanjani's decision to bow out of parliament following allegations of election fraud did not help improve his battered image in the eyes of the Iranian public. It was significant that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not come to the defence of Rafsanjani, who has been under heavy fire from the reformers. This suggests that Khamenei would prefer the former president to be "in the shadow", at least for the time being.
Conservatives had looked to Rafsanjani, a veteran revolutionary cleric who was president from 1989 to 1997 and previously served two terms as parliament speaker, to mount a strong challenge for the post again and also to lead the conservatives' parliamentary bloc. His withdrawal has further weakened the conservatives' position in the new 290-seat parliament, in which the reformists hold a majority of the 259 plus seats that have so far been confirmed by the Guardian Council.
Although former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani never had a real chance of becoming speaker of Iran's new Majlis, his decision to withdraw from the incoming parliament will make it easier for reformists to elect one of their own as head of the legislature. Behzad Nabavi, an advisor to reformist President Mohammad Khatami, is the reformers' favourite candidate for the post, follwed by Dr. Mohsen Mirdamadi and Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi. Karrubi. However, could prove "more acceptable" to the reformists' conservative rivals.
Nabavi, who heads the "Mujahedeen of the Islamic Revolution Organisation", came eighth in the Tehran race. Dr. Miradamadi is a Cambridge graduate and co-founder of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), the leading reformist group headed by President Khatami's brother, Mohammadreza. Mirdamadi was also among the top ten vote getters in Tehran.
Leading reformists such as Mohammadreza Khatami and Alireza Nouri believe the time has come for the speakership to go to a layman, but if they cannot get their way, they would nominate Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi, a cleric who has held the post in the past. Karrubi, who heads the Combatant Clerics Society to which President Khatami was affiliated, has good relations with Ayatollah Khamenei and some right-wing circles. His background and the fact that he is not as "anti-conservative" as Nabavi and Mirdamadi, would make him more acceptable or, to put it differently, "less provocative"- to the supreme leader and the conservative camp. And as we go to print Ayatollah Karrubi has been elected as temporary speaker of parliament for a few weeks, although he may be later on elected to the post for one year."
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12:49 PM
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