Iran's former president, Hassan Rouhani, has challenged his disqualification from the sixth round of the Assembly of Experts elections, demanding answers and documents from the Guardian Council.
In a letter sent on March 10, Rouhani pointed out the Council's criteria for disqualification, criticizing them as "generally involving vague affiliations" and lacking evidence contrary to explicit law. He insisted that the documents supporting the claims be presented "fully, without omission or summary."
The hardliners controlling the candidate vetting process for the March 1 elections rejected Rouhani's candidacy, pushing him into political isolation along with other former Iranian presidents. Rouhani had registered and expressed eagerness to run for a seat in the Assembly, which holds the constitutional duty to select Iran’s next Supreme Leader in the event of Ali Khamenei’s absence.
The move highlights a broader pattern of manipulation in Iranian elections, where non-hardliners are systematically rejected from candidacy, consolidating power within ultraconservative circles. Such tactics were previously observed in the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 presidential elections, resulting in the dominance of ultraconservatives in both the outgoing parliament and President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration.
Despite the regime's efforts to control the electoral process, concerns persist over the legitimacy of the elections, exacerbated by economic crises and nationwide protests. Official figures reported a turnout of 41 percent out of 61.1 million eligible voters, but doubts linger over the accuracy of the numbers with some estimates as low as nine percent.
All elected and re-elected members of parliament need to have their mandates approved first by the investigative committee and then in full session of the newly elected legislature.
Ghalibaf’s saga started when Hamid Rasaei, a newly elected hardliner politician attacked him in a TV program and on social media, calling the veteran politician, former IRGC general, mayor of Tehran and speaker of parliament a “hypocrite.” The IRGC media immediately came to Ghalibaf’s defense threatening that Rasaei’s credentials could be rejected in parliament. It is worth noting that Ghalibaf is a relative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and it is safe to assume that he enjoys his support.
According to Reformist figure Mohammad Reza Javadi-Hesar, the ultraconservatives at the new Majles (parliament) might take Ghalibaf's credentials hostage to make sure that Rasai's credentials get the approval of the parliament, and he can get away with undermining Khamenei's advice to avoid conflicts and controversies.
Javadi-Hesar also warned that hardliners might use all their political muscle and influence to back the motion to reject Ghalibaf's credentials to blackmail him and his supporters and get Rasaei's credentials through the vetting during the next parliament's first two weeks in May and June.
The elections were marred by the lowest turnout in the 45-year history of the Islamic Republic. Official numbers said 41 percent voted in the March 1 elections, although many observers looking at partial numbers published believe the turnout might have been around 30 percent. Also, millions of people cast invalid ballots to show their dismay at the existing conditions in the country. All this has put the legitimacy of the new parliament in serious doubt.
There were as many as 500,000 invalid ballots cast in Tehran alone, with some hardliners getting elected with around 5% of all eligible votes in the capital.
Another lawmaker, Massoud Pezeshkian, who won the elections only after Khamenei intervened to avert his disqualification by the Guardian Council, told reformist Shargh newspaper that the newly elected hardliner lawmakers have very limited experience and knowledge. He explained that the regime is underestimating potential damage by barring the candidacy of many experienced politicians from the elections and putting the ultraconservatives in majority of the new parliament.
Pezeshkian reiterated his concern, stating, "The new lawmakers are incapable of addressing the country's major challenges." Additionally, he criticized the government, highlighting its failure to deliver on numerous promises regarding housing, employment, and tackling economic corruption. He further remarked, "The government has failed to fulfill even one of the many promises it made."
He further argued that "I cannot say the Majles and the government ignore the country's problems, but their decisions are problematic and those who should carry out these decisions are not capable of accomplishing their tasks. They lack the knowledge and experience for doing their job."
Meanwhile, hardliners continue to make outlandish claims about how successful the elections were. Esmail Kowsari, a hardliner and an IRGC officer said in an interview that “polling stations in Tehran were too busy and the waiting lines were too long in the morning, so voters decided to vote in the afternoon. The situation was the same in the afternoon, so they decided to go to the polls during the night, but the polls were still busy."
However, numerous videos taken by citizens showed empty polling stations in the capital and other large cities. The lackluster elections has become another issue of legitimacy for the regime that faces intractable economic and other crises.