‎Sara Samavati

Mrs. Azar Mansouri is the political deputy of the Islamic Iran Participation Front [Hezb-e ‎Mosharekat-e Iran-e Eslami]. In an exclusive interview with Rooz, she comments on the ‎upcoming Majlis elections and the need for holding free and fair elections. Below is an excerpt ‎of this interview. ‎

Rooz (R): What do you expect the coming elections to be like, given the current situation?‎

Azar Mansouri (AM): Look, after the Seventh Majlis elections, where we saw mass ‎disqualifications, to the extent that the outcomes of 190 races were predetermined, we guessed ‎that the presidential elections would be freer, which turned out to be correct. For example, the ‎initial decision to disqualify Dr. Mehravar was overturned. This was also our prediction about ‎the city council elections, which turned out to be true. These were the latest elections, and they ‎were held in a relatively freer environment. ‎

However, a newer issue that is being discussed is the integrity of the elections process. You ‎know that a very important part of any election is its implementation. Currently, our key concern ‎is that many of our members may be disqualified. On the other hand, the date set aside for the ‎elections, 24 of Esfand, is on the eve of a national holiday [ie the Persian New Year]. ‎Furthermore, personnel changes in the ministry of interior also raises concerns for us.. For this ‎reason, we have been very careful and have asked other reformist groups to have contingency ‎plans to safeguard the integrity of ballots and elections. ‎

R: In that case, are you optimistic that the Guardian Council will qualify reformist candidates? ‎

AM: Yes! Yes! Our prediction is - and based on the evidence I just provided - that our ‎prediction will turn out right: the Guardian Council will not create the same obstacles it did ‎during the Seventh Majlis elections. Still, this does not mean that the reformists should give up ‎their efforts. We hope that the events of the Seventh Majlis elections do not reoccur. But if they ‎do, other measures must be taken so that we behave differently in the eight Majlis elections. ‎

R: Based on your analyses and remarks, can one say that the reformists will boycott the ‎elections if they face an atmosphere similar to the seventh Majlis elections? ‎

AM: Look, we are now participating as part of a coalition. Therefore any decision must be ‎unanimously approved by members of this coalition. Given this and since most races are ‎predetermined because of the disqualifications that take place, our entire focus now is to make ‎sure that the reformists reach an agreement in which our participation is more than just a show. ‎Our prediction is that other reformist forces are also completely aware of this issue and we can ‎reach that agreement in our coalition meeting. All of our efforts are focused on preventing mass ‎disqualifications from taking place. We do not want to be treated in a way that forces us to take ‎alternative measures. ‎