Following the factional infighting and with the important elections nearing, the hardline establishment of the clerical regime rejected an appeal by Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran after his qualification for running for Assembly of Experts was rejected during the first round of vetting.
“Based on news we have received, Sayyad Hassan Khomeini’s qualification for candidacy for the Assembly of Experts has once again not been approved by the Guardian Council,” he wrote on instant messaging service Telegram.
The AFP reported that the Guardian Council, a conservative-dominated committee that decides who can run for public office, has barred hundreds of candidates from standing for the assembly on February 26, the same day as parliamentary polls.
The Assembly of Experts monitors the work of Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei, and its 88 members may also be responsible for picking the supreme leader’s eventual successor.
Following Iran’s recent nuclear deal with world powers led by the United States, both elections are seen as crucial to shaping the country’s future direction.
Khomeini, a cleric who has ties to reformist politicians, said last month he would appeal a Guardian Council decision to ban him from running.
“It’s a surprise to me and to many others that some of the honourable gentlemen in the Guardian Council couldn’t establish I am qualified,” Khomeini had said.
A government official said this week that prominent reformists were among more than 1,400 initially rejected candidates now eligible to contest parliamentary elections later this month.
The individuals were not named but a final candidate list is expected on February 16.
The number of people allowed to contest the parliamentary election now stands at 6,185 — 51 percent of original applicants — including 586 women, less than %10 of the total candidates.