Guardian Council: Hassan Rouhani Must Be Re-qualified for Next Term

The spokesperson of the Guardian Council once again commented on the possibility of rejecting Hassan Rouhani’s candidacy, stating that the president’s qualifications are limited to a four-year term and he must be re-qualified for the next period.

Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, in an interview with the weekly “Mossalath” published on Sunday, April 3, on the Entekhab website, responding to a question about Hassan Rouhani’s candidacy announcement after meeting with the Leader of the Islamic Republic, said “we walk our own path.”

Mr. Kadkhodaei announced that the qualification approval of all candidates in parliamentary and presidential elections “is limited to the same four-year term.”

He added that the previous statement of the Guardian Council regarding the president’s qualifications was for the past four years.

The Guardian Council’s spokesperson also announced that his remarks are the raising of a “completely legal” matter and should not be interpreted politically.

Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei had also said on December 6, 2016, that the council always examines the qualifications of “incumbent” presidents in their second candidacy period, and “there is no guarantee” that an “incumbent” president will be re-qualified.

Ten days after these remarks, Najatollah Ebrahimian, another Guardian Council member, said that from a legal perspective there is no difference between the president and others, and it is possible that the president’s qualifications could be rejected.

In response, some reformist figures, including Fayezollah Arab Sorkhi, a member of the Organization of Mojaheds of the Islamic Revolution, interpreted the purpose of raising this discussion as “weakening the morale of reformists.”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, deputy head of the Hope faction in parliament, on February 7, 2017, announced the “resolution of the problem of rejecting” Hassan Rouhani’s candidacy in the 2017 presidential election “under the guidance of high-ranking system officials” and stressed that the purpose of psychological warfare against the president is to discourage him from running in the election.

Mr. Tabesh did not provide more details about what he called the “resolution of the problem of Rouhani’s disqualification under the guidance of high-ranking system officials.”

However, websites and political figures in Iran sometimes refer to the Leader of the Islamic Republic as “a high-ranking system official” when they cannot mention him directly.

Rouhani Faces “No Simple Task” to Win the Election

The Reformists’ Policy Council has supported Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 presidential election.

However, Masoud Pezeshkian, vice speaker of parliament, announced that Mr. Rouhani “faces no simple task” to win the election.

He added: “On one hand, numerous problems have been attributed to this government, and on the other hand, there are internal divisions among his supporters, which could be weak points for him.”

According to Mr. Pezeshkian, if the government can present its strengths “transparently” and “show that it has stabilized the sinking ship and is moving forward with strength, it can regain the people’s trust.”

He also said that Mr. Rouhani’s government “does not appreciate those who worked hard for his coming to power and supported the government.”

The vice speaker of parliament added that in the presidential election, both reformist and principlist streams will have candidates, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s faction’s candidate “does not have the necessary support to create a third pole in the election campaign.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, confirmed on September 26, 2016, that he told Mr. Ahmadinejad that “it is not expedient” for him to participate in the upcoming election.

However, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a statement supporting Hamid Baqaei’s candidacy, said he is “determined” to perform his “political and social duties” in a way that prevents “worthy individuals” from being “excluded from the ballot” unlike the year 2013.

Meanwhile, Nasser Imani, a principlist figure, said on March 30, 2017, in an interview with the Entekhab website, that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s support for Hamid Baqaei “is actually in clear violation of the Leader’s guidance, because it makes the election bipolar.”

Mr. Baqaei, known as one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s closest associates, was arrested in June of last year on charges of “embezzlement” and was released in December of that year.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, spokesman for the Judiciary, clarified that Hamid Baqaei’s case is still open, but this alone will not lead to his disqualification, and it is possible for a candidate with an open case to be approved by the Guardian Council.

Meanwhile, the Guardian Council’s spokesperson said that the Leader of the Islamic Republic’s directive on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not running as a candidate is not “extended” to his associates, and their qualifications “will be examined within the framework of their own situation.”

According to reports, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s activities in support of Hamidreza Baqaei have intensified, and his speech in Ahvaz has drawn criticism.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on April 2 in a speech in Ahvaz: “Those who think people don’t understand are the most ignorant people on earth. What kind of monarchy is this that has come upon some people,… intense mobilization to tell the people that subsidies are bad and not carry them out? 97 percent of people want something, why are you against the people? 80 million people don’t understand, you understand, this same nation brought you up.”

While some associates of Iran’s former president, such as Ali Akbar Javanfekr, have identified the audience of these remarks as Hassan Rouhani, some principlist figures, including Mohsen Rezaei, identify the audience of these remarks as the Leader of the Islamic Republic.

In the meantime, Mr. Ahmadinejad has refrained from giving a direct answer in an interview with the AFP Spain correspondent regarding the interpretations of his recent speech in Ahvaz.

Source: Radio Farda