Parliament Moves to Gain Oversight Authority Over Guardian Council Jurists

Iranian parliament representatives aim to pass a bill that would place the qualification of jurist members of the Guardian Council under parliament’s authority. According to this plan, parliament should be able to evaluate the performance of each jurist member of the Guardian Council and, if deemed unfit, vote for their disqualification and removal.

According to a proposal by Mohammad Javad Fathi that was approved in the open session on Monday (Ordibehesht 22) during the review of details of the amendment to the parliament’s internal regulations, Guardian Council jurists are also subject to Article 24 of parliament’s internal regulations and its provisions, and therefore must be elected or removed by a vote of representatives.

According to Iranian news agencies: “Accordingly, representatives’ objections to the performance of Guardian Council jurist members are made through a written petition by 25 people or at the request of the internal regulations commission, and after an objection-hearing committee is formed by the internal regulations drafting commission, the matter will be reviewed. If the majority of the committee members vote for the disqualification of the objected individual, their membership will be suspended. The report will then be reviewed in a closed session and put to a vote in parliament’s open session, and if parliament votes to reject the individual’s qualification, they will be considered as having resigned.”​

Given the broad authorities of the Guardian Council, tenth parliament representatives who are spending their final days in parliament have attempted to limit those powers. It is unlikely that this plan will pass the Guardian Council and gain approval.

Qasem Mirzaei Niko, a member of Hope faction and parliament’s councils commission, explicitly told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA): “We have no hope for the approval of this plan.” He suggests the possibility that “this plan will be returned to parliament again and referred to the Expediency Discernment Council with representatives’ objections.”

Guardian Council’s Fear of “Electoral Law Amendment”

Debate and dispute over the electoral law amendment plan that was approved in the open session on Ordibehesht 14 of the Islamic Consultative Assembly with the approval vote of the majority of present representatives continues.

Tenth parliament representatives, on Ordibehesht 3, approved a plan with 159 favorable votes. In this plan, they sought urgency to impose penalties on those individuals who submit incorrect reports to the four authorities in reviewing the qualification of candidates.

Representatives’ goal is for the Guardian Council to act in accordance with the law and parliament’s resolutions. They say that the Guardian Council’s supervisory authority, which includes reviewing the qualification of candidacy applicants in elections, is currently an “arbitrary oversight” that must have its scope defined by the “in accordance with the articles of law” clause.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the Guardian Council, immediately responded to parliament’s resolution to amend the electoral law and criticized it by saying: “Unfortunately, the recent plan not only has no relation to the general policies of elections, but has been designed and approved with the goal of nullifying the qualification review of candidates.”

Then Ali Motahari in an open letter addressed to Ahmad Jannati, the text of which became public on Saturday, Ordibehesht 20, reminded him that the Guardian Council’s duty is “solely” to review the conformity of parliament’s resolutions with the constitution and Islamic law.

AbbasAli Kadkhodaei, spokesman of the Guardian Council, in response to Motahari, considered the parliament representatives’ plan to be “ambiguous from various dimensions” and wrote in a tweet: “Supervisory oversight based on parliament’s resolution is legal oversight. Its implementation is the rule of law, and opposition to it is fleeing from law and anarchism!”

The Guardian Council’s public relations also responded in detail to Ali Motahari’s letter to Jannati, which was published in the mass media.

In the Guardian Council’s response, it was emphasized: “The plan that was approved in the Islamic Consultative Assembly last week was accompanied from the outset with concerns expressed by experts, jurists, and some respected members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the damages resulting from such changes in the election holding and oversight process were pointed out to the designers.”

The Guardian Council, in defense of its authorities, says that it “can legislate on all matters within the limits stipulated in the constitution” and adds: “The Guardian Council, as the guardian body of the constitution, is obligated to protect all principles of the constitution and the criteria of sacred Islamic law and prevent the approval of resolutions contrary to them.”

At the end of the Guardian Council’s response, without naming Ali Motahari, he was mentioned in an insulting manner with this phrase: “From a representative who is known for quick temper and aggressiveness, one cannot expect observance of the duties of representation and preservation of parliament’s credibility.”