Iran Council bars 650 candidates from race
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Saturday, January 29, 2000
NICOSIA -- A final list of Iranian parliamentary candidates was
submitted on Friday to the Interior Ministry, with about 650 applicants
rejected either because they were too young, uneducated or had conflicts of
interests.
The Guardians Council and the Interior Ministry disqualified 650 out of
7,000 applicants to run in the Feb. 18 elections. About 50 were directly
rejected by the council, which is headed by supporters of Iranian supreme
leader Ali Khamenei.
"The reasons for the rejection of most of the candidates were that they
did not have the educational qualifications, were not old enough or had not
resigned their posts when they were legally obligated to," council spokesman
Reza Ostadi said.
For the first time, the council had to explain its rejection of
candidates and bring evidence. The council disqualified 402 nominees whose
eligibility had been approved by the Interior Ministry.
"This council does not favor any particular faction or individuals,"
Ostadi said. "When the final results are announced, the people will
definitely make a fair judgment."
The race for parliament is being regarded as a struggle between
conservative forces and those aligned with reformers. Western diplomats said
they expect Khamenei to position himself as kingmaker in sharing power in
parliament.
Saturday, January 29, 2000
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