Khatami, the brother of the Iranian president, tops the list of the reformists barred from Majlis elections

TEHRAN, January 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A large number of top Iranian reformists, including the brother of President Mohammad Khatami, have been barred from standing in next month's parliamentary elections by a conservative-run vetting body, reports said Sunday, January 11. 

Reformist MPs were in uproar as they were informed of the widespread rejections, staging a walkout during Sunday's session, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

They further decided to stage an all-night sit-in at the national parliament to protest the move taken by the Guardians Council -- a conservative-held legislative vetting body that also has the power to weed out candidates for public office.

"Reformist MPs will stage a sit-in in parliament this evening. They will stay there until there is a change in attitude over candidacies," Elaheh Koulaiee, a female reformist MP and women's rights activist, told AFP.

Koulaiee said that of the 210 reformists in the 290-seat Majlis, 80 had seen their candidacies rejected.

"I regret and I am saddened by this massive rejection of the forces inside the parliament and personalities from outside parliament," Karoubi said during Sunday's Majlis session carried live on state radio.

"I am in contact with President Khatami, and for several days we have worked together and held discussions. We have spoken to the Guide [supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the Guardians Council, and we will continue," he added, calling on those rejected to "lodge a formal complaint".

The Guardians Council is also an unelected senate-like body that has also blocked most Majlis legislation since reformers took control of parliament in 2000.

Scores Of Rejections

According to the student news agency ISNA, the Guardians Council rejected 877 of the 1,700 prospective candidates who registered in the capital to stand for a seat in the Majlis.  

The agency listed a number of key pro-reform figures it said had also failed to get past the highly contested vetting procedure, including Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of the Iranian president, an incumbent MP and the head of the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Iran's largest reform party.

Two other top IIPF members, Behzad Nabavi and Fatemeh Haqiqatjou, were also barred from standing for the elections.

In addition, Mohammad Reza Khatami and Nabavi are both the current deputy speakers in the Majlis.

Also reportedly rejected was Mohsen Mirdamadi, an outspoken reformer and current head of the Majlis foreign policy and national security commission.

Mohammad Sadik Al-Hosseni, an Iranian political analysts, believes that the rejections were either due to press articles or outspoken political stands.