Competition Begins for Speakership of the Parliament

InsideIran - With less than a month remaining until the second round of the parliamentary elections in Iran, unofficial competition over choosing the next speaker of the parliament has begun between political parties.

According to the BBC Persian Service, Morteza Agha Tehrani, the secretary general of the Unwavering Front, a coalition headed by the conservative cleric Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, the speaker of the ninth parliament should not be one of the “quiet seditionists.”

The Unwavering Front is the main competitor of the United Conservative Front, headed by Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, the current Chairman of the Assembly of Experts. Ali Larijani, the current speaker of the Parliament belongs to the United Conservative Front.

Agha Tehrani also emphasized that the next parliament speaker should abide by the concept of the velayate faghih.

The “quiet seditionists” is the term used by the Iranian Supreme Leader during the unrest following the 2009 presidential election. This term refers to influential figures that remained silent during the protests and did not condemn the actions of the reformist candidates, Mousavi and Karroubi.

In the past the political challengers of Larijani have accused him of staying silent during the protests and some have even accused him of sending a congratulatory note to Mousavi acknowledging his victory. Larijani has denied such rumors.

The Unwavering Front currently supports Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, former speaker of the parliament and the advisor to the Supreme Leader.

The speaker and the executive board of the parliament are selected on an annual basis during an internal election process held in the parliament.