Reformists barred from Parliament; very low turn out expected

As I had expected, the Guardian Council, a close body to the conservatives and the Supreme Leader, has barred all key reformists to stand in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

This includes Reza Khatami, the head of the main reformist party, Jebhe-e Mosharekat, who is the younger brother of the president. Names of Ebrahim Yazdi, the head of Nehzat-e Azadi, the main Nationalist group; Behzad Nabavi, the head of a small but very influential center of the left group called Sazman-e Mojahedin-e Enghelab-e Eslaami. Khatami and Nabavi are already MPs from Tehran.

Not very surprisingly, Mehdi Karrubi, who is the head of the right of the left group, Rohanioon-e Mobarez, and its main members have been approved. He and his group were among the closest to the Ayatollah Khomeini especially in the last years of his life and mostly get their legitimacy by being with him. They are mainly conservative clerics who had in fact devided the reformist camp by some of their views on support for radical Islamic groups in Lebenon and Palestine, Nationalist opposition groups, freedom of the press, social freedoms, etc.

So I think conservatives are ready to pay whatever price to get back the parliament and then the government, even the turn out would be very low.

Reformists have been talking about refusing to participate in elections if they are barred from standing. Now it appears to be the case.