“We
will yield to what the leader has told us to do, that is to be lenient
with the candidates, but within the boundaries of the law,” Janati
was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on state matters,
ordered the conservative-dominated Council last week to be less
stringent in its vetting procedure in an apparent attempt to resolve
the crisis ahead of the parliamentary polls.
The
12-member Council, whose members Khamenei directly or indirectly
appoints, screens all legislation and political candidates.
"Mistakes
are possible. We neither insist on (standing by) mistakes nor would we
violate the law," Janati said in the sermon, broadcast live on
state radio.
The
Islamic republic was plunged into a major crisis when it disqualified
3,605 people seeking to stand for parliament saying they failed to
satisfy Islamic requirements.
Among
those barred from running are around 80 of the incumbent 290 MPs. They
have been holding a sit-in at parliament for 13 days and fasting from
dawn to dusk for the last week to protest against the mass
disqualifications.
They
also vowed not to sit in the outgoing parliament between February 20
and the opening of the new assembly in June, which could paralyze the
legislature.
The
Council has since reinstated some 300 candidates, but none of them are
sitting MPs.
‘Partially
Defused’
Janati,
for his part, insisted Friday that the row was at least partially
defused.
“There
might be some ambiguities among us, the officials, but in a meeting we
had with the President and the head of the Majlis (parliament) it
turned out that they were given wrong information and that we do not
have any difference in principles,” he said.
“We
told them that we are ready to listen to anything they think we did
wrong, but in the end we will not violate the law,” he said.
Janati
added that the Council was working “meticulously” to review the
blacklist “even though the work is considerable, given that more
than 8,000 candidacies must be examined”.
He
also took a slap at foreign powers for their comments about the
crisis.
“Israel
and the European Union also make comments. Aren't they ashamed to
interfere in our internal affairs? They think it is still the shah's
time,” he added, referring to the monarch forced from his throne in
1979 in the country's Islamic revolution.
He
urged Iranian voters to “slap in the face” the critics by turning
out in strength on election day.
Whatever
the Council's final decision on reinstating reformist candidates, the
liberal camp is facing a steep uphill struggle.
The
Council has until January 30 to certify the final list of candidates
to the Interior Ministry, which is responsible for organizing the
polls.
That
gives those finally approved only three weeks to pitch their views to
an electorate already widely disillusioned, particularly voters who
have supported Khatami and the reformists in the past.
Reformist
candidates must also deal with the fact that those whose candidacies
were approved from the outset, principally conservatives, have had a
significant headstart on the campaign trail.
