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Paris, 24 May 2005 -The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) express their deep concern at the rejection of more than one thousand candidates to the forthcoming presidential election in Iran.
In Iran, anybody can present his candidacy to the presidential election if he fulfils the conditions laid out in Article 115 of the Constitution. That provision specifies that candidates must be of Iranian origin and Iranian nationality; have administrative capacity and resourcefulness, a good past-record, trustworthiness and piety and convinced belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the official religion of the country. That provision refers only to males as potential candidates.
The Council of Guardians, a non-elected conservative body, announced on May 22 that it rejects all the 1014 candidates but six. Among those six pre-selected candidates, four are hard line conservatives. They are respectively the former Commander of the police; the former Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (in control of Radio and TV); the Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council (an appointed body supposed to resolve conflicts between the Parliament and the Council of Guardians); and the mayor of Tehran. Three of them are former members of the Pasdarans, a religious militia depending directly upon the Supreme Leader who participated in the violent repression of the students’ movements in 1999 and 2003.
The two remaining candidates are respectively the former President of the Republic, Mr Rafsandjani, and the former President of the Parliament, Mr Karroubi. Both are clergy members.
The main candidate of the reformists, Mr Mostafa Moeen, has been rejected. Mr Moeen has been Minister of Education under Khatami presidency and resigned after the violent repression against the students’ movement in 1999, to express his disagreement. The reformists announced on May 22 their intention to boycott the election, which is supposed to take place on June 17, 2005.
“Under those circumstances, there can be no free and fair election in Iran”, said Sidiki Kaba, President of the FIDH. “Once again, the right to vote and be elected at genuine periodic elections guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors, enshrined in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is blatantly violated in Iran”, he added.
“We urge the international community, including the European Union and the United States, to firmly denounce such a masquerade”, concluded Karim Lahidji, President of the LDDHI and Vice-President of the FIDH.
