1/12/2004

Troubling news from Iran: A new power struggle engulfed Iran's government on Sunday when a hard-line Islamic religious authority disqualified half the 8,200 candidates in parliamentary elections next month, provoking outrage among reformers who accused their conservative rivals of trying to steal the vote. Rejected candidates included a brother of the reform-minded president, Mohammad Khatami. More than 80 current members of the 290-seat Parliament were rejected, including two prominent feminists, two deputy speakers and six leaders of important parliamentary commissions. Many had been outspoken critics of Iran's strict Islamic religious political system and its treatment of dissenters and diverse views...Nearly 60 reformist members of Parliament held a sit-in at Parliament on Sunday to protest the action.

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