Iran's Guardians Council pledges case-by-case review of electoral blacklist

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2004

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran's powerful conservative Guardians Council pledged Sunday it would review a controversial blacklist of candidates hoping to contest next month's parliament elections, saying it would respect an order from the Islamic republic's supreme leader to be less stringent.

The comments, from the spokesman of the political watchdog, come amid an ongoing crisis that has prompted a government resignation threat and the possibility that preparations for the key February 20 vote could be thrown into disarray.

"Where the aptitude of certain candidates, notably those incumbent MPs, had been approved in the past, it means that these people can still be candidates unless there is proof to the contrary," Ebrahim Azizi told a news conference.

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