Ahmad
Janati, the powerful chairman of the Guardian Council, charged with supervising
the elections, on Sunday warned that certain groups, presumably
the moderates and reformists were after “capturing” the Assembly of Experts and
the Majlis after succeeding in capturing the presidency.
“These days those who just captured the first bastion, are after capturing the Assembly of Experts, and later the Majlis, to implement their corrupt goals,” Janati said. (IRNA, 30 March)
“These days those who just captured the first bastion, are after capturing the Assembly of Experts, and later the Majlis, to implement their corrupt goals,” Janati said. (IRNA, 30 March)
By the
first bastion, Janati was referring to the presidency which was “captured” by
Hassan Rouhani who represented the moderate/reformist bloc in the 2013
presidential election.
“The
election for the Assembly of Experts is very much tied to the foundation
of the Islamic Republic… They (moderates/reformists) have dangerous plans. They
now want to capture the Assembly of Experts because that's the only institution
that can choose/change the (supreme) leader,” Jannati added. “They have lots of
money and some are in the center of power today.”(IRNA, 30 March)
Here Janati
was clearly referring to Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the de facto leader of
the moderate/reformist bloc.
Janati’s
fears are clear: the moderates led by Rafsanjani and supported by the
reformists will try to field numerous candidates in the next Assembly of
Experts elections to win an outright majority, a first in the Islamic Republic.
The Assembly has always been controlled by the right. By controlling the
Assembly, the moderates will position themselves in par with Ayatollah Khamenei
and his supporters, and politically will elevate the power of Rafsanjani as
Khamenei’s co-equal.
The Assembly last held its election in December 2006 for an eight-year term. The new elections are due in December 2014. The hard right is fearful that if a comprehensive nuclear agreement is reached by July, the moderates will parlay that success into a victory in the Assembly elections.
The Assembly last held its election in December 2006 for an eight-year term. The new elections are due in December 2014. The hard right is fearful that if a comprehensive nuclear agreement is reached by July, the moderates will parlay that success into a victory in the Assembly elections.
Janati
was also fearful that if the moderate/reformist bloc wins the Assembly, they
will position themselves to win the next Majlis elections as well. Those
elections will be held in March 2016. By controlling the presidency, the
Assembly of Experts and the Majlis, the moderate/reformist block would then be
the actual governing body of the country for the first time in the history of
the Islamic Republic.
File Photo: Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani (C, top
table) gives the opening speech during Assembly of Experts' biannual meeting in
Tehran, 6 March 2012. (Reuters)
