Iranian reformist MPs attend their almost two-week long sit-in to protest the bans (AFP)

TEHRAN , January 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Iranian parliament approved changes to the electoral law Sunday, January 25, after thousands of reformist candidates, including sitting MPs, were disqualified from upcoming elections by a conservative-controlled vetting body.

The legislature's reformist majority had proposed two amendments to the law to make it easier for candidates to stand for election, including one which would prevent the Guardians Council from disqualifying sitting MPs unless they had been convicted of a criminal offence, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

However, the amendments themselves, approved after an emergency debate, have to be endorsed by the Guardians Council.

The body which vets legislation and candidates for office, set off a political firestorm this month when it barred 3,605 of 8,157 prospective candidates, most of them reformers, from standing in the February 20 election.

It is not yet clear whether the move will help end the political stand-off or rather escalates it.

On Friday, January 23, the head of the Guardian Council said the watchdog was willing to be more lenient and reverse any “mistakes” made when it banned thousands of reformist hopefuls from standing in parliamentary elections.

Even though the statements and measures taken so far were seen as partially solving the problem, Iran 's president and parliament speaker, in a rare challenge Saturday, January 24, jointly accused the Guardian’s Council conservative members of trying to sway upcoming elections by banning liberals from running for two thirds of seats in the parliament.

In a remarkable act of solidarity by Iran 's highest reformist figures, Mohammad Khatami and Mehdi Karrubi, demanded a "full review" of the decision by the powerful conservatives, according to AFP.

Khatami, bottom and Karrubi both weighed in, giving support to reformists

They added that the review should take place "as soon as possible."

Khatami and Karrubi argued that "a religious democracy does not deserve an election where there will be no competition for 190 seats (in the 290 seat Majlis) and where ... the process favors only one camp."

They also challenged a claim Friday, January 23, by the Council head Ahmad Janati that they saw eye to eye on the issue, and demanded that details of a meeting they had be made public.

Janati said "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.