Hassan Rouhani enters Iran elections row

Iran’s President entered a row over thousands of disqualified election candidates on Thursday, taking a barely veiled swipe at a powerful committee that chooses who can run for Parliament.

Hassan Rouhani’s intervention came days after it emerged that only one per cent of reformists seeking to become legislators had been deemed eligible to contest the ballot on February 26.

The vast rejection of reformist candidates on Monday — only 30 of 3,000 seeking a seat in Parliament were reportedly approved — led to claims that February’s vote would not be credible.

Mr Rouhani, speaking in Tehran to an audience of provincial governors, appeared to criticise the Guardian Council, the committee that so far has barred around 60 per cent of candidates in total.

“It is called the House of the Nation, not the house of one faction,” he said to loud applause, implying that not only conservatives should contest the election.

“We must create hope, enthusiasm, competition. If there is one faction and the other is not there, they don’t need the February 26 elections, they go to the Parliament,” Mr Rouhani added. “No official without the vote of the people would be legitimate.”

The vetting procedure has been contentious for months, as the poll is an opportunity for reformists to make gains against a dominant conservative camp in Parliament.

The remarks underscored tension about the elections following Iran’s recent nuclear deal.