Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, expressed his desire to hold a referendum on important national issues in a message posted on the social media network Twitter.
Hassan Rouhani wrote on Twitter: “I wish that at least once, an important issue that is significant to everyone be put to the people for a vote, in accordance with one of the principles of the Constitution.”
Previously, the Iranian President had also stated at Iran’s First Economic Conference, referring to Article 59 of the country’s Constitution concerning referendums: “I strongly wish for circumstances to be created so that at least once, an important economic, political, social, and cultural issue be put to public vote and referendum through a legislative article or program, and I wish that at least once, for the implementation of a very important issue that is significant to everyone, the people be asked. Of course, the Parliament has its own important and respected place, but it would have been good if this was done once a year or at least once every few years, but now 36 years have passed and this law has not been implemented.”
This comes as the referendum issue was one of the matters that reformists raised during their period of governance in Iran, but it has always faced strong opposition from the conservative faction and those close to Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Source: Al Arabiya Farsi
