A Senior Security Authority Caused My Disqualification

Rooz Online

Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran’s powerful State Expediency Council that was born to resolve differences between the Majlis and the Guardian Council, announced that the presence of a “senior security” authority at the GC and his recommendation caused the rejection of his presidential bid by the Council.

These remarks confirm news reports earlier about the minister of intelligence’s appearance at the Guardian Council and his request to reject the presidential candidacy of Rafsanjani.

Rafsanjani described the event in these words: “There were no issues in the process of reviewing my credentials. Contrary to the norm and the law, a senior security official personally went to the Guardian Council, which was initially objected by some members of the council, and told the members that Rafsanjani’s presence in the elections could bring in a decisive victory for him with a high popular vote, something that was incompatible with their ways. He thus convinced the GC to use my physical condition as the excuse to reject my qualifications for the presidency.”

Prior to this, a news report in Saham news site, close to reformist leader Mehdi Karoubi who remains under house arrest since 2011, had said that Rafsanjani had been approved in the first round of voting by the Guardian Council. But that Heidar Moslehi, the minister of intelligence along with four of his assistants went to the GC and protested the vote. In that incident Moslehi had said that as the election campaign begins, there will be a wave of support for Mr. Rafsanjani and that he would win the presidential race with over 70 percent votes. Ultimately at the insistence of the secretary of the GC Ahmad Janati, the issue was put to a second round of voting which did failed to pass.

It is also said that Hashemi Shahrudi, the former head of Iran’s judiciary and a current member of the Guardian Council did not participate in the second voting in protest.

But Rafsanjani’s recent remarks were not limited to his presidential disqualification. He Thanked Aref for stepping aside in the presidential race and announced his support for Hassan Rowhani, adding, “Mr. Dr Hassan Rowhani has entered the presidential race after consultation with me and with due respect that I have for the other candidates, I will vote for Rowhani and consider him suitable to take the position of chief executive.”

Rafsanjani also criticized hardliners and “extremists” in power and said, “Individuals and groups with extremist views who are responsible for creating the current conditions of the country continued to defend the mismanagement of the country until very recently. Today they take the upper hand and refrain from taking responsibility for their actions and point the finger of blame on others.”

Ahmadinejad’s administration did not escape Rafsanjani’s criticism. “Unfortunately mismanagement in recent years has resulted in the deviation of the course of the Islamic revolution, cleared the path for the enemies to exert their pressure on Iran, and we now witness the harshest sanctions and threats against Iran,” he said.

Soon after his disqualification Rafsanjani had said that the ignorance of some of the officials was troublesome. “Don’t they understand what they are doing? Even if they have animosity, reason says they should let the person come and be disgraced. You should have let people go to the polls with hope and after six months realize that everything was getting more expensive. This is similar to what many representatives told me after the war not to change my position from being demanding to being responsive, but I resorted to God,” he said explaining his decision to run for and take the post of the presidency at the end of the war with Iraq in 1989 for two four-year terms.