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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (1912)	1/7/2003 10:01:00 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 15987

IMO. Very important event in muslim world>>>. Iran Elections Draw 225,000 Candidates By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer January 7, 2003, 1:46 PM EST TEHRAN, Iran -- Nearly 225,000 candidates have registered for Feb. 28 city and town council elections throughout Iran, including prominent reformists in Tehran aiming to challenge hard-liners. Those filing include Zahra Behnoudi, the wife of university professor Hashem Aghajari, who has been sentenced to death for questioning the rule of hard-line clerics. Also competing in the capital are former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh and members of outlawed liberal dissident groups. "A total of 224,802 hopefuls have registered throughout Iran to run in village and city council elections," the Interior Ministry announced Tuesday. Registration ended Monday. Unlike other elections in Iran, candidates are not required to survive a strict vetting process by the hard-line Guardian Council. That means liberal dissidents can test their rising popularity amid growing disillusionment with reformers, who have largely failed to live up to promises of institutionalizing democracy and protecting freedoms. Khosrow Mansourian, a candidate and member of the outlawed Freedom Movement, said about a dozen members of his group have registered their names. The movement, which opposes the country's 23-year-old clerical rule, was banned by an Islamic court in July and 33 of its leaders were imprisoned for allegedly acting against national security with the intention of "overthrowing the establishment." Candidates' credentials will be reviewed by the Interior Ministry and by a parliamentary committee that is expected to be dominated by reformers. Approved candidates will have a week to campaign beginning Feb. 20. Campaigning must stop 24 hours before polls open on Feb. 28. In the first local council elections in Iran, held four years ago, about 333,000 candidates ran for seats. Hard-line media has attributed the decrease to discontent with reformers, but an Interior Ministry spokesman said it was wrong to compare the figures with 1999. The novelty of the 1999 elections likely led to the high numbers of candidates, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity. newsday.com