Ahmadinejad Appointed To The Expediency Council

Phot Source: rnw.nl

The Supreme leader of Iran, Khamenei, has appointed, the now ex-president, Ahmadinejad to the Expediency Council (1) which is headed by Rafsanjani (2). 

References:

(1)http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8051750.stm

(2)http://www.jomhourieslami.com/1392/13920515/13920515_03_jomhori_islami_akhbar_dakheli_0009.html

Khamenei Establishes New Board to Resolve Internal Conflicts

The Status of Rafsanjani’s “Expediency Council” Not Clear

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei today issued an edict establishing a “Supreme Board of Arbitration and Adjustment of Relations among the Three Branches of Government.” He also named Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi as the chairman of the new body. Hashemi-Shahroudi will report directly to Khamenei. [IRNA, 25 July].

Khamenei urged the leaders and senior members of the three branches of the government to resolve their disputes through the newly established body.

In 1988, the Islamic Republic established the Expediency Council under the chairmanship of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Council is in charge of resolving differences and conflicts between different branches of the government. It was not immediately clear if the new “Supreme Board” would replace the “Expediency Council” or would it act as a parallel body. If the former, today’s edict by the supreme leader would effectively mean that Rafsanjani has been dumped from his last important job, that of the chairmanship of the Expediency Council.

The new Supreme Board will have five members. Its chairman, Ayatollah Shahroudi, is the former head of Iran’s Judiciary and a current member of the Guardian Council. An Iraqi-Iranian, Shahroudi once served as the leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the main Shia political party opposing Saddam. Other members of the supreme board are Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi, Morteza Nabavi, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei and Samad Mousavi-Khoshdel.

Growing Rift Between Ahmadinejad and Larijanis

Tehran newspapers, including the influential conservative daily Kayhan, in their Wednesday’s editions have widely discussed the growing rift between President Ahmadinejad and Larijani brothers who head the legislative and judicial branches of the government.

In a letter addressed to the members of Majlis, Ahmadinejad said Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, in collaboration with Judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani, was interfering in government’s business and was attempting to limit the president’s power in order to accrue more power for himself.

“Attempts by the Majlis speaker, in unfortunate collaboration with the judiciary chief, in interfering in the affairs of the executive branch, such as the selection of the chairman of the Central Bank, create disruption in the management of the affairs of the country,” Ahmadinejad said [Kayhan, 26 January].

In a blow against Ayatollah Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad also accused the Expediency Council, headed by Rafsanjani, of attempting to uphold Majlis’s “unconstitutional” bills in the guise of national interests.

“What national interests are prompting the [Expediency] Council to side with the Majlis and the judiciary in their interference with the executive branch’s mandate to appoint government officials?” Ahmadinejad added.

Some of prominent conservative lawmakers, such as Ahmad Tavakoli, dismissed Ahmadinejad’s claims.

"Such an attack [by the president] is a pretext to cover up social problems and to overshadow serious economic weaknesses, whose problems are increasing day by day," Tavakoli said.

To read Kayhan’s report in Farsi, click here.

Iran’s Electoral Laws Under Review

Rafsanjani, center, flanked by Ali Larijani (r) and Sadeq Larijani

Expediency Council Reviewing Iran's Electoral Laws

Tehran. 21 February

Iran’s Expediency Council convened an all-important meeting today to revamp the country’s electoral laws. The meeting, chaired by Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, with Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief Sadeq Larijani serving as deputy chairmen, will have to make recommendations on the role of the Guardian Council in vetting candidates for office, including the candidates running for president and parliament. The meeting was convened under the direction of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election last June.

As is, the Guardian Council can deny candidacy to anyone it deems not qualified to run for office. Last year, only four candidates, including Mousavi and Karubi, were qualified to run for presidency.

The Expediency Council and its chairman are believed to favor the formation of a “National Electoral Commission” to oversee the election process. The critics on the right are already accusing Rafsanjani of trying to dismantle the Guardian Council and get away with the vetting process.

“The game, in one word, is to eliminate the Guardian Council from the vetting process,” said Hossein Shariatmadari, the influential editor of ultra-conservative daily Kayhan.

Any proposal to create a National Electoral Commission is against Islamic Republic constitution, Shariatmadari argued in an editorial that appeared in today’s edition of his newspaper.

The creation of the electoral commission and elimination of the vetting process will be a significant reform toward democratization of Iranian politics.

Majlis & Presidential Elections

The Expediency Council yesterday rejected a bill to combine the next Majlis and presidential elections. The elections for the 8th Majlis will be held on Friday 18 March, 2008. The presidential elections will be held in June 2009.