Recommendation for an Election Commission in Iran

Mohsen Rezai

Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, recommends the establishment of a National Elections Commission in order to bar the government from interfering in the elections. He stated that the establishment of such a commission would ensure people’s trust in the system and solve the election problems.

Mohsen Rezai along with MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi were the three presidential candidates that challenged Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in June. While Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi continue to dispute the authenticity of the elections and are still legally challenging the government that has risen from the elections, Mr. Rezai took back his allegations of fraud in the ballot soon after nationwide election protests broke out in Iran. He was also the only candidate to attend Mr. Ahmadinejad’s inauguration.

Mr. Rezai did not mention any details regarding his proposed commission. He said that he is pursuing something similar to the “Independent Election Commission” in Afghanistan.

Mr. Rezai who was speaking at a gathering of university students in Masjid-e Soleyman, expressed his regrets about the post-election “heavy air of security in the society.” He told the students: “Just as people have the right to participate in the elections, we should also give them the right to protest.” He added: “If the protests are legal, and the protest leaders follow an ethical and legal forum, the government should accept them.”

In July, Mr. Rezai had warned about the clash between the “Islamic and republic aspects” of the system, saying that the continuity of this clash could result in the dismantling of the whole regime. He has also said that Ahamdinejad, Mousavi and Karroubi have “no other alternative but to sit together in order to ensure national interest.”