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Iran picks conservative cleric as chairman of Assembly of Experts

Xinhua, May 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

The prominent conservative cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, was elected as the new chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts on Tuesday.

Jannati, who won 51 out of 86 votes cast in the Assembly's meeting, will lead the experts' body for two years.

On February 26, the Iranians partook in one of the country's most important elections of Assembly of Experts to choose 88 members out of 166 qualified hopefuls.

According to the results publicized later, two influential conservative clerics, namely Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi and Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, failed to secure their places among the 16 required in Tehran province.

Out of the 16 elected candidates for the assembly in Tehran province, 15 were supported by reformists and moderates. However, in the provinces other than Tehran across the country, they were the conservative candidates who gained upper hand.

The Assembly of Experts is a deliberative body of Islamic theologians or Mujtahids, elected for eight-year terms, and charged with electing and removing the Supreme Leader of Iran and supervising his activities.

Jannati, born in February 1927 in Iran's Isfahan city, is a hardline Iranian politician and Shi'ite cleric.

He is the chairman of the Guardian Council, the highest legislative body of the country in charge of checking legislation approved by Majlis (parliament) with the Constitution and Sharia (basic Islamic legal system), and approving the candidates in various elections.

Jannati has been a member of the council since 1980 and has been its chair since 1985. He is an interim leader of Friday prayers of Tehran appointed by the Supreme Leader.

He is also father of Ali Jannati, the current Iranian moderate Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidence.

Ahmad Jannati wields considerable influence in Iran's legislative institutions since he simultaneously holds seats in the Guardian Council, the Expediency Discernment Council of the Establishment, and the Assembly of Experts.

As Jannati is considered close to the Iranian Islamic conservatives, he is heavily criticized by the reformists for his active role in disqualifying some reformist candidates to run in various elections.

Jannati's pick showed that conservatives hold reign in the country's decisive institution of the Assembly of Experts which is tasked with discussing and deciding on the leadership of the Islamic Republic. Endit