Spotlight: Decisive Friday: uncertainty overshadows results of parliamentary election

Two major political factions will begin their election race for the Iranian Majlis (parliament) seats on Friday morning, but it is hard to foretell who will be the winner at the end.

Observers believe the next Majlis will open further space for the reformists and moderates, however, it cannot be heavily weighted in favor of this group or that.

From early Friday morning, the Iranians will attend the ballot boxes to choose representatives for two key legislative institutions, Majlis and Assembly of Experts which decides on the leadership of the country.

However, by far the most discussed and disputed issue in the Iranian political scene, these days, is the Majlis election which here is the symbol of "more real contest" and "democratization" of the country.

BITTER DEBATES

Perhaps, it was not an unexpected subject for the people to witness that the campaign of parliamentary election would turn into the locus of bitter and tough repartee as the voting day nears.

The conservatives have claimed that some foreign-based Persian-language satellite TV channels, including the BBC and VOA, have taken side with some reformist lists for elections while they have opposed the lists of the principlists, which means "intervention" in Iran's domestic affairs.

On Monday, Deputy chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, warned against "BBC's interference" in Iran's upcoming parliamentary elections, and criticized Iran's Foreign Ministry for what he called its "inaction" vis-a-vis the attempts by the "hostile" channel to influence the outcome of the elections.

In response, the influential Iranian cleric and the former moderate president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that calling some moderate or reformist coalitions as "the British list" is an insult at the people's understanding.

Some reformists have also referred to hardline conservatives as the "extremists", which aroused the reaction of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday.

The terms of "extremists" and "centrists" have been created by the enemy to divide the nation, Khamenei said, warning against the influence of West in Iran's elections.

UNCERTAIN VICTORY

The harsh conflicts and the strategy of "destroying the bone" signify that the competition is hard and both sides are considering the possibility of margins of loss.

The political atmosphere of Iran, these days, relies on a proposition that moderates and reformists, propelled by Hassan Rouhani's victory in Iran's 2013 presidential elections, are working hard to change the current conservative-dominated texture of the Majlis on Feb. 26 vote.

Currently, almost two-thirds of the Majlis representatives are from the prinsiplists' camp, and the rest encompasses the independents and small portion of reformists.

"We believe that there would be good news on Feb. 26" and "the flag of reforms will be raised in the next parliament," Mostafa Kavakebian, the prominent reformist hopeful, wrote in his Mardomsalari (or Democracy) newspaper on Wednesday.

Also, Saeed Hajjarian, the Iranian journalist, told Arman newspaper earlier that: "It seems that there would be changes in the next parliament ... the texture of the Majlis will improve, that is to say, we will witness a balanced parliament."

Hajjarian declined to privilege one faction with the victory in the vote.

Among the 6,229 qualified candidates, including 586 women, who will compete for 290 seats in the Majlis, reformists are very much hopeful for a significant comeback after almost a decade of isolation from Iran's political scene, but to what extent, it is uncertain.

The Iranian Majlis can force the dismissal of cabinet ministers by no-confidence votes and can impeach the president for misconduct in office.

The parliament also drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties, and approves the national budget. Endit