Arash Sigarchi - The massive disqualification of reformist candidates for the March 14 Majlis elections that took place over the last few weeks in Iran overshadowed the strong military presence in the politics of the country. The presence of the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards in the upcoming elections is so prominent that in addition to the presence of its members in the executive and supervisory boards, they shall also be at the elections stations either as executive officers or as security officers enforcing security.
Soon after general Afshar took up his new post as the new chief of the country’s Elections Board, it selected the members of the Executive Boards. I the past, it was the practice to use university professors and presidents for these posts, this time, individuals close to the Passdaran and the Basij mobilization force were handpicked for the job.
Their first job was to review the qualifications and background of the candidates who had signed up to stand for elections. Passdaran members played the key role in eliminating those candidates that are known as the reformists. Before these boards began their work, Sobh Sadegh, an internal newsletter of the Passdaran wrote this, “Since reformists will be eliminated from the elections process, they are advised to remove themselves from such candidacy and withdraw from the elections.”
At the same time, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran publicly announced, “We should be careful not to allow those individuals who look up to the US [as their inspiration] to succeed in getting into the Majlis.” Other Passdaran commanders made similar remarks. For example, the commander of the Ghazvin Passdaran division stressed that the sixth Majlis (whose majority comprised of reformist candidates between 2000 and 2004) should not be repeated. “We should not allow contaminated individuals to enter the Majlis and contaminate it as well. The untrustworthy and outsiders should not enter the Majlis,” he said. Such directives continued until quite recently. Just two days ago general Nasser Shabani, commander of the Staff and Officer’s College of the Passdaran (DAFOOS) verbally attacked reformers and criticized them for even having the guts to nominate themselves for the Majlis.
It is clear that the Passdaran is bent on ensuring that the Majlis remains firmly in the hands of the ideologues. And if any body still has any doubts, then one should listen to the words of the representative of the supreme leader in the Passdaran. “We support the ideologues,” he said.
In addition to such directives, the other concern that many have about the Passdaran and the Basij is their planned presence at voting stations. In the past it was a tradition to use employees from the Ministry of Education or other government offices as monitors at the voting stations. But now, according to a website close to reformers, “A proposal has been made to replace these individuals with people from the Basij.” But concerns go beyond even this. The plans are to use the Passdaran to enforce security at the polling stations In this regard, the chief of police is on record to have said, “We shall utilize Basij and Passdaran forces in consultation with the provincial and township security bureaus to provide security for the elections.”
So, the Passdaran corps not only has members in the Executive Boards that vet candidates to the Majlis, it also members in the Supervisory boards that are the main arm of the Guardians Council, in the polling stations as monitors and as law enforcement officers. All of this of course is in addition to having many candidates of their own for the Majlis as well.
Their first job was to review the qualifications and background of the candidates who had signed up to stand for elections. Passdaran members played the key role in eliminating those candidates that are known as the reformists. Before these boards began their work, Sobh Sadegh, an internal newsletter of the Passdaran wrote this, “Since reformists will be eliminated from the elections process, they are advised to remove themselves from such candidacy and withdraw from the elections.”
At the same time, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran publicly announced, “We should be careful not to allow those individuals who look up to the US [as their inspiration] to succeed in getting into the Majlis.” Other Passdaran commanders made similar remarks. For example, the commander of the Ghazvin Passdaran division stressed that the sixth Majlis (whose majority comprised of reformist candidates between 2000 and 2004) should not be repeated. “We should not allow contaminated individuals to enter the Majlis and contaminate it as well. The untrustworthy and outsiders should not enter the Majlis,” he said. Such directives continued until quite recently. Just two days ago general Nasser Shabani, commander of the Staff and Officer’s College of the Passdaran (DAFOOS) verbally attacked reformers and criticized them for even having the guts to nominate themselves for the Majlis.
It is clear that the Passdaran is bent on ensuring that the Majlis remains firmly in the hands of the ideologues. And if any body still has any doubts, then one should listen to the words of the representative of the supreme leader in the Passdaran. “We support the ideologues,” he said.
In addition to such directives, the other concern that many have about the Passdaran and the Basij is their planned presence at voting stations. In the past it was a tradition to use employees from the Ministry of Education or other government offices as monitors at the voting stations. But now, according to a website close to reformers, “A proposal has been made to replace these individuals with people from the Basij.” But concerns go beyond even this. The plans are to use the Passdaran to enforce security at the polling stations In this regard, the chief of police is on record to have said, “We shall utilize Basij and Passdaran forces in consultation with the provincial and township security bureaus to provide security for the elections.”
So, the Passdaran corps not only has members in the Executive Boards that vet candidates to the Majlis, it also members in the Supervisory boards that are the main arm of the Guardians Council, in the polling stations as monitors and as law enforcement officers. All of this of course is in addition to having many candidates of their own for the Majlis as well.
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