TEHRAN (Iran News) – Leader urges Iranians to participate in election . Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has backed up the Constitutional Council against recent criticism of its disqualification of some presidential hopefuls.
During a meeting via video-link with members of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) on Thursday (May 27), the Leader said the Constitutional Council’s work was based on legal duties.
“The respected Constitutional Council did what it had to do and what it deemed necessary to do as its duty, [and] determined the candidates,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader first thanked all the individuals who nominated to run. “Many of these people undoubtedly entered the scene because they felt a responsibility to.”
“Secondly,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, “I have to doubly thank those whose qualification was not approved and was not ascertained by the Council and who reacted nobly. Some of them even encouraged people to participate in the election.”
The Leader said the fact that the Constitutional Council had not been able to ascertain the qualification of certain candidates did not mean that those individuals were not qualified — “they may even be highly qualified” — what it meant was that the Council had not been able to determine such a qualification based on its own recognition, the reports, and the available tools.
The election is a race to serve the people, said the Leader, urging the candidates to view the election as such.
Ayatollah Khamenei also advised the candidates to refrain from mud-slinging and leveling accusations against others, or making unfeasible pledges.
“Moral considerations should seriously be taken into account. If the election candidates really observe Islamic ethics in the debates and in the interviews that they give, this [behavior] will spread over to the society,” he said.
The Leader also advised the candidates against attempting to break the taboos.
“To be seen and heard more, certain parties come up with the solution of breaking customs, ‘violating the red lines of the establishment’ — as they would say themselves. The Islamic Republic is firmly in place and is there to stay; it is an establishment that has been settled in place; the main contours of the establishment are clear. People should not attempt to somehow earn themselves a position by violating the important boundaries of the Islamic Republic. No position will be earned that way,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader also urged the Iranian people to turn out to vote in the election.
“Dear Iranian nation! Election takes place in one day, but its outcome is there for several years. Participate in the election! Consider the election as belonging to yourselves, because it does belong to you,” the Leader said.
“Do not heed the words of these people who propagate that ‘[taking part] is futile, let’s not go- we won’t go to the ballot box.’ These don’t have the people’s interests in mind. Anyone who does would never ask people not to go to the ballot box,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
