Iranians must have the "right to choose" between different political movements, President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday, as controversy grows over the disqualification of thousands of candidates in upcoming polls.Only approved people and parties can run in Iranian elections, meaning that the mullahs approve the candidates who will do what they want.
Speaking at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during annual celebrations of the 1979 revolution, Rouhani, a moderate conservative, praised the political heritage of the Islamic republic's founder.
"The imam (Khomeini) insisted on the fact that people must participate in all elections and have the right to choose", Rouhani said during the address, broadcast on state television.
Controversy has been raging for the past fortnight, pitting the coalition that supports Rouhani's government against the Guardian Council, which oversees Iran's elections and is dominated by ultra-conservatives.
The council says it has barred some 9,500 potential candidates from standing in the February 21 legislative polls -- almost two thirds of the 14,500 hopefuls -- including 92 sitting MPs from of all political stripes.
Rouhani, paying homage the "father of republicanism in Iran", said Khomeini had refused to establish a "caliphate" and instead "chose the Islamic republic" after the victory of the revolution against the shah's rule.
No, that's not democracy.