Iran Guardians Ease Election Bans

[CShine]

The conservative Guardian Council says it has reversed bans on a third of the candidates initially barred from standing in Iran's upcoming elections. "More than 1,160 candidates were reinstated," the council said on Friday, after a deadline for reviewing the bans expired. The body originally disqualified about 3,600 of 7,900 candidates. The bans had drawn protest from reformist MPs, and a boycott threat from a student group.

The Guardian Council had already reinstated several hundred candidates following a call for a review by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The latest reinstatements bring the official number of candidates to about 5,450. The council said the vote, due to be held on 20 February, would be "unprecedented elections because such a large number of people will be taking part" .

On Thursday, Iran's provincial governors complained that there were not enough candidates for a free and fair election. Earlier, Iran's main pro-democracy students' group, the Office for Fostering Unity, called on people not to vote. The groups also urged reformist MPs to continue their protests against the disqualifications.

On Wednesday President Mohammad Khatami, himself a reformist, warned he would not accept even a single "unfair" disqualification. "Even if one person has been disqualified unfairly, as president, I will defend his right," Mr Khatami said.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3446143.stm