Iran parliament hit with mass resignations

MORE than a third of the Iranian parliament resigned yesterday and the speaker delivered a stinging rebuke to the hard-line Guardian Council for its disqualification of hundreds of liberal candidates in upcoming elections.

A letter of resignation was submitted to parliamentary speaker Mahdi Karroubi by reformists, who said they could not go ahead with the February 20 vote. It was initially signed by 109 liberal legislators, but later grew to 117 members.

In a letter read aloud in the 290-seat Majlis, or parliament, liberal lawmaker Rajab Ali Mazrouie said that the result of elections held under restrictions imposed by the hard-liners would be a foregone conclusion.

“An election whose result is clear beforehand is a treason to the rights and ideals of the nation,” the lawmaker told some 200 legislators attending yesterday’s session.

Such elections would be “illegitimate and unacceptable to the nation,” he said.

After the letter was read out, all the resigning lawmakers stood and gathered in the centre of the chamber in a show of solidarity.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the resignations were final or if the legislature’s powers will be impeded by the departure of so many if its members.

Karroubi said each resignation will be discussed and put to vote in future sessions, but he did not say how long that process will take. He insisted that the final decision on whether to accept the resignations rests with parliament.

The speaker also said that he and reformist President Mohammad Khatami had begun “new efforts” to resolve the crisis, including discussions with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who hand-picks most of the 12 clerics on the Guardian Council and can overrule its decisions.

Karroubi appealed to Khamenei to intervene, and he accused the council of “disrespecting democratic values and having no faith in a popular vote.” In comments directed at the council, Karroubi questioned their loyalty to Islam.