Ahmadinejad Declares a Conspiracy to Delay Election

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told supporters in Ardabil today that efforts were underway to delay the elections, and Iran’s “decision-makers” had purchased an island to which they will flee if the Iranian people rise up. Ahmadinejad added that the “decision-makers” would use COVID as an excuse to postpone the election if they suspected the result would not be in their favour. Recently a former confident of Ahmadinejad, Abdol-Reza Davari, stated that Ahmadinejad’s campaign is built on the message that the Islamic Republic is about to collapse, and that the government has abandoned the people.

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“Women Should not be Limited to Just Voting”

The Secretary General of the Zainab Society, Azam Haji Abbasi, stated that the role of women in Presidential elections should not be limited to voting. She criticised the Principalist Unity Council’s decision to not nominate a woman among their candidates, stating that it was to their detriment. Abbasi added that the Guardian Council must clearly define the constitutional term “rajol-e siasi”, which has been used to exclude women candidates, and that the Guardian Council declare unambiguously whether a woman can be President or not.

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Namazi: “The Greatest Rival for All Candidates is Turnout”

Ali-Mohammad Namazi, a member of the Reformist Executives of Construction Party, told Donya-ye Eqtesad said “the most serious rival for Presidential candidates this time around is turnout. I think only about 20-25% of voters will participate”. Namazi points to a real fear that public dissatisfaction coupled with COVID restrictions will lead to an abysmally low turnout. In the same interview, Namazi stated that Hassan Khomeini’s decision to withdraw from nominating was disappointing for the Reformists, although there was still hope that Mohammad-Javad Zarif might run.

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Karbaschi: Tajzadeh’s Nomination a “Good Test” for Iran

Prominent Reformist politician Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi, commented on rumours that former Khatami advisor Mostafa Tajzadeh is considering running for President, saying that if the Guardian Council were to approve Tajzadeh, it would be “a good test to see if the people opt for this kind of tone and speaking, or not”. Tajzadeh spent seven years in Evin prison as a result of his dissent during the 2009 post-election protests, and therefore his nomination would be significant. On Tuesday Tajzadeh tweeted that he was still consulting with friends and colleagues on whether he would nominate.

Read more at Khabaronline

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Assadollah Badamchian Nominates for Election

The Secretary General of the Islamic Coalition Party, Asadollah Badamchian, announced he would be one of five candidates nominated by his party to run for President. Badamchian indicated that his nomination occurred after consultations with another key Principalist organisation, the Unity Council. The agreement is if one candidate from these organisations is a clear favourite, all other candidates will stand down and support them.

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Parliament rejects President Law

In the latest iteration of the attempts to change the Presidential Law, the Parliament has again rejected the amendments, specifically the condition that would restrict Presidential candidates to be between the ages of 40-75. The law was in part interpreted as being aimed at preventing Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, 38, from running in this Presidential election, and its rejection by the parliament was followed by speech by Azari Jahromi in which he commented on the election for the first time. The Parliament also rejected a condition which would attempt to define the Constitutional concept of “statesman (rajol-e siasi)”, which the Parliament rejected as not suitable for Common Law. The second condition is sensitive as the term has historically been interpreted as excluding women from running for president, an issue now in dispute. The law has led to a significant struggle between the Parliament and the Guardian Council which forced the intervention of the Expediency Council earlier this week. In a sign that the Guardian Council is unhappy with the result, a letter sent by dissenting members of Parliament to Ayatollah Janati was published, stating that since the Guardian Council vets candidates for election, they should have a greater role in deciding on the law.

Read the report on the Parliament on Entekhab
Watch Azari Jahromi’s comments on the election at Donya-ye Eqtesad
Read the letter to Ayatollah Janati at Khabaronline

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Rouhani hints at Postponing of Election

In a cabinet meeting today, a seemingly innocuous statement by President Hassan Rouhani is being interpreted as hinting at a possible postponement of the election. On the issue of nuclear negotiations, Rouhani told the cabinet, “we are not wasting a single second of time, and we will continue even if the elections are held in 2022”. One interpretation is that Rouhani was referring to the limited time left in his presidency, and that he was not going to leave nuclear negotiations to the next administration but would continue his efforts. Others have interpreted his statement in light of unconfirmed rumours that elections could be postponed because of the dire COVID situation in Iran.

Watch Rouhani speak on Khabaronline

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Coalition Council: Qalibaf Did Not Send Us Three Conditions

Deputy chairman of the Principalist Coalition Council, Mehdi Chamran, today denied the report in the Saazandegi newspaper that the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, sent a list of three conditions for him running for president to the major Principalist organisations. In particular, Chamran denied that Qalibaf had ever asked for his organisation to be dismissive of the corruption charges made against Isa Sharifi, who served as deputy mayor of Tehran under Qalibaf.

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