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Iran MP: We’ve created artificial red lines on free speech

While official campaigning has not yet begun, Iranian candidates have begun speaking at universities.
File photo taken May 28, 2013 shows former Iranian Vice President and former presidential candidate Mohammad Reza Aref, who has withdrawn from the presidential race. The Iranian presidential election will be held June 14. REUTERS/Fars News (POLITICS ELECTIONS PROFILE) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10KSJ

Official campaigning for the Feb. 26 Iran parliamentary elections will begin Feb. 18 and last until Feb. 25, according to official election bodies. However, as is the norm in Iranian politics, unofficial campaigning has already begun, with candidates giving speeches at universities, the traditional epicenter of Iranian political activity.

Shargh Daily covered two of the more notable speeches at Amir Kabir University in Tehran on Feb. 15 by Mohammad Reza Aref, the lead Reformist candidate for Tehran, and Ali Motahhari, the former conservative member of parliament now running under Aref’s Reformist list.

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