The Foundation for Democracy in Iran deplores the refusal of the Iranian government to allow international observers to oversee the March 8 elections to the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), and calls on the government to allow free and fair elections to be contested by all political parties, whether inside Iran or in exile.
Under the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, candidates for the Majlis must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a conclave of six clerics who are appointed by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i. They are assisted by six non-voting members who are chosen by the head of the Judiciary Branch, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, (who is also chosen by the Supreme Leader), although the non-voting members must be approved by a vote of Parliament. In theory, this means that no candidates can stand for election unless they meet the personal approval of Ayatollah Khamene'i.
While the regime has allowed some jockeying among the ruling factions, political parties have been banned from taking part in the elections. On Jan. 10, the government barred a moderate opposition group which supports Islamic rule in Iran from holding a press conference in Tehran to discuss the elections.
Even the radical Militant Clergy Association (MCA), which includes former regime officials such as Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, Mohsen Khoiniha, and Mehdi Karrubi, has protested the manner in which the election lists are being selected by the regime. The MCA has refused to put forward a slate of candidates, as it did in the last elections four years ago, when all of its candidates were defeated.
Chief Justice Mohammad Yazdi commented on the Islamic Republic's interpretation of democracy in a Friday prayer sermon delivered on Jan. 19, broadcast on Tehran radio. "We do respect the popular suffrage," Yazdi said. "But we say that it is not credible. Why? Because we regard the popular suffrage as subordinate to the will of God... It does not matter if it is a majority vote or a consensus. As long as the suffrage counters the will of God, it does not count."
With regime officials displaying such open contempt for the democratic process, it comes as little surprise that opposition groups inside Iran such as the Iran Nation's Party, led by Darioush Forouhar, or the Liberation Movement of Iran, led by Ibrahim Yazdi, have called on their supporters to boycott the elections.
Given the conditions under which the Majlis elections are being prepared, the Foundation believes their outcome has little relevance to the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. The Foundation warns against seeing in the ritual scheduling of sham elections an expression of the "gradual democratization" of Iran.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director (exec@iran.org). FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org/.