Rohani allies face uphill challenge in Feb 26 vote

Ankara - Hardliners wary of losing control amid rising popularity of Rohani

 Iranians will shape the future of the Islamic republic for at least a decade when hardline and moderate candidates battle next week in elections for parliament and the body which will choose the country's next supreme leader.
Allies of pragmatist President Hassan Rohani, buoyed by Iran's nuclear deal, hope to gain influence, but moves by hardliners to block moderate candidates and disillusion over Rohani's stalled reforms leave them with an uphill task.
Last year's nuclear accord led to the lifting of crippling international sanctions, offering the hope of economic upturn and better living standards for many Iranians.
But the potential opening up to the world - and Rohani's increasing popularity - have alarmed hardline allies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and have intensified the political infighting within Iran's complex power structures.
The hardline Guardian Council, which vets candidates and laws, blocked thousands of moderate hopefuls from standing in the February 26 parliamentary election.
It also barred nearly 80 per cent of candidates standing in an election held on the same day for the Assembly of Experts, which will eventually choose the 76-year-old Khamenei's successor.
The council vets parliamentary candidates based on their loyalty to Iran's constitution and clerical leadership.
"In total 6,229 people, out of nearly 12,000 registered hopefuls, have been qualified for the parliamentary vote," said senior Interior Ministry official Hosseinali Amiri, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Campaigning for the parliamentary election started yesterday and lasts for a week.
Even if his hardline allies were to lose the parliamentary race to their moderate rivals, Khamenei will continue to hold ultimate authority in matters of state, while presidents and lawmakers will come and go.
Khamenei, supporting the Guardian Council's strict vetting, has repeatedly warned that Iran's enemies have sought to use the elections to "infiltrate" its power structure.
"I won't get tired of saying the truth again and again ... The enemy pursues infiltration into the elections. People must be aware of that and act against what the enemies seek," Khamenei said on Wednesday.
Moderates want to have a say in choosing Khamenei's successor by winning more seats in the assembly, whose 88 elected members will remain in place until 2024.
In the past, debate about Khamenei's possible successor was considered as undermining the supreme leader, but public discussion has gained momentum ahead of the elections.
"Khamenei is 76 years old and he has medical issues. The Assembly of Experts' vote will designate future of Iran because the next assembly has to pick the next leader," said a Tehran-based analyst on condition of anonymity.
In a move which may have been aimed at maintaining hardline domination of the assembly, the Guardian Council approved only around 166 candidates out of 801 registered hopefuls.
"The Assembly vote is very important ... They will select the supreme leader when it is necessary ... Therefore the enemy is very sensitive about the Assembly," Khamenei said.
Among those disqualified from the assembly was Hassan Khomeini, an ally of Rohani and a grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late leader of Iran's 1979 revolution.

• MENA