Iranian Hard-Liners Veto Election Bill

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Iranian Hard-Liners Veto Election Bill

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's hard-line Guardian Council vetoed a bill on Sunday that would have curbed its power, throwing elections into doubt in a historic confrontation between reformers and conservatives.

The Guardian Council rejected a bill reinstating thousands of candidates that it disqualified earlier. The veto is likely to provoke a boycott of the Feb. 20 legislative elections by reformers.
The bill that parliament passed earlier Sunday sought to overturn the disqualifications. Reformists have condemned the disqualifications as an attempt by the hard-liners to skew the elections in their favor.

"We've been informed that the Guardian Council has vetoed the legislation on the grounds that it contradicated the constitution and Sharia (Islamic) law," Mohsen Mirdamadi told The Associated Press. Mirdamadi heads the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the parliament and is one of the lawmakers disqualified from running again. <snip>

Karroubi warned that unless the disqualifications were withdrawn, there would be no liberal candidates in more than two-thirds of the electoral districts. The battle over who can run on Feb. 20 has turned into Iran's worst political crisis in years.Ratings: Would you recommend this story? <snip>

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