Report: Iranian reformers resign
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Iranian President Mohammad Khatami reportedly was in the hospital with back pain Saturday.
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TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Reformist Iranian lawmakers on Sunday began submitting their resignations in protest over an unelected hardline body's move to bar hundreds of reformist candidates from standing in a February 20 parliamentary election.
Prominent reformist MP Mohsen Mirdamadi, in a speech to parliament broadcast live on state radio, read out a resignation statement which he said was on behalf of an unspecified number of fellow lawmakers who were resigning.
"They want to cover the ugly body of dictatorship with the beautiful dress of democracy," he said, referring to the mass disqualification of candidates by the hardline Guardian Council.
"This letter has so far been signed by 108 MPs," reformist lawmaker Ali Mazrouie said in a speech to parliament broadcast live on state radio.
Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi later told parliament he had received 109 resignation requests from lawmakers.
The Guardian Council, which reviews candidates, earlier summarily disqualified hundreds of possible reformers for the February 20 elections.
Reformers hold a significant majority in the Iranian parliament.
The resignations is a first for Iran and a development for which Iran's constitution spells out no remedy.
Some observers believe it is the responsibility of Iran's hardline supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to intervene in the situation.
Meanwhile, moderate President Mohammad Khatami has been taken to the hospital with a bad back Saturday and unavailable for further comment on the situation.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
