A Majlis that is Afraid
Iranian newspapers have announced the end of the examination of the amendments to the presidential election law.
According to Kargozaran newspaper, “The Majlis leadership continued to refrain from resolving ambiguities surrounding several important issues facing presidential hopefuls, including candidacy of women and those of the Sunni faith, as well as limits on participation of those affiliated with the military.” What seems significant in this connection are the revelations of a lawmaker about reasons explaining lack of determination to resolve these ambiguities: “I made suggestions about candidacy of women and prohibition on candidacy of military commanders but when I approached the leadership to gain permission to officially introduce these issues, they said if your suggestions are discussed and not passed that would not reflect well on eighth Majlis deputies, and if they are passed the Guardian Council will strike them down.” The representative of the Kurdish city of Marivan also told Kargozaran, “We wanted to prepare the possibility of candidacy of women and members of the Sunni community for presidency but we were not allowed to.“
In remarks that were cited, aside from disbelief regarding equality of men and women, other shortcomings are revealed which shut the door on any optimism regarding the performance of institutions that boast respect for law.
In effect, by admitting that they “were not allowed to” suggest the possibility of candidacy of women and members of the Sunni community, the representative from Marivan proves that the claims of those critical of Iran’s electoral system are true. If people who serve in the Majlis were unconditionally backed by a social base of voters and been elected to the Majlis in free and fair elections, would they have had to ask permission from anyone to defend the rights of half of the population? How can a representative who is not allowed to pose sensitive and essential topics of discussion in the Majlis be a symbol of parliamentary democracy?
It is clear that, on the one hand, the Majlis leadership is afraid that it will be discredited if the Majlis votes against women’s rights for candidacy. On the other hand, it is afraid that the Majlis will vote for such a thing and the Guardian Council will veto it, again discrediting the Majlis. The Majlis is afraid of either scenario! As a result, the Majlis essentially does not respect itself. That the Majlis is afraid of passing women’s right to candidacy shows the misery of the Iranian population.
But all this aside, ignorance or pretending to be ignorant of the country’s legal system has added to the problems of the Majlis. According to the present Constitution, when the Majlis passes a bill and the Guardian Council vetoes it, the Majlis can insist on passing the bill if it really cares for the rights of the people. If two-thirds of lawmakers vote for bill again, the bill will be sent to the Expediency Council and if members of that council really care about what is ”expedient” for the regime they will deem the right of women and members of the Sunni community to candidacy in presidential election as beneficial to the regime and will pass it.
In any case, why is the Majlis afraid of recognizing the rights of half of the Iranian population and the Sunni minority who reside in border areas (water and land) of Iran in some of the country’s most sensitive areas? Where does a Majlis fit in terms of popular respect if it is afraid of passing a bill or piece of legislation? How can the public respect that Majlis?